


EVANGELION: REWIRED

by Anguirus1955



Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 10:39:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 263,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14851200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anguirus1955/pseuds/Anguirus1955
Summary: In 2025, the cataclysmic event known as 2nd Impact occurred, eradicating more than half of the Earth's human population and millions of other life forms. Following the discovery of a series of ancient texts, the surviving remnants of humanity have spent the last 17 years preparing for the arrival of powerful and mysterious beings known in these texts as "ANGELS," which have the power to bring about another cataclysm if unopposed. In the year 2042, the wait is finally over as humanity begins its most treacherous battle for survival...





	1. Step Forward Into Terror

 

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

* * *

**Pre-Story Ramble**

So... here I am, writing fan fiction for Evangelion. Yes, I realize that doing this while I have so many other unfinished works is pretty much biting off more than I can chew. But you know what?

I don't care. I will write what I want, when I want, and how I want. If it takes me a month to write a single chapter because I'm having trouble focusing, then so be it. I hope that this won't be the case here, but... chapters will be posted sporadically. Also, each chapter will be referred to as an episode, much like my various Daria crossover stories.

Now, for the main reason to write this is... I like Evangelion, and that's about it. Well, okay, I want to write my own version of the story, with characters' personalities changed a bit, some new characters added in, a new Angel or two, and some other characters changing themselves as the story goes on. Most of the characters in this first episode will be mostly identical to their original NGE counterparts, save for... a few quirks here and there.

On another note, in this version of the story, 2nd Impact occurs in 2025, and the main story begins 17 years later, with our main pilots all being 16 years of age at the start... for reasons that will become obvious as the story progresses. So, the main story now starts in the year 2042, because 2015 has already passed in reality.

On a final note, this story's rating is subject to change from T - M as the story develops. This is, after all, based on Evangelion, a series that is practically  _built_  upon nightmare fuel, emotional insecurities, and psychological trauma.

**End of Ramble**

As with all stories that I write, I've written this while listening to music, mostly soundtracks, but with a few rock albums here and there. Soundtracks include  _Neon Genesis Evangelion Original Soundtrack_  Volumes 1 - 3 by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion S2 Works_  by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  by Shiro Sagisu and Masamichi Amano and Yoichi Murata,  _Aliens: The Deluxe Edition_  (1986/2001) by James Horner,  _Godzilla 2000 Millennium_  (1999) by Takayuki Hattori, and  _Shiro SAGISU Music From Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone_  (2007) by Shiro Sagisu.

Yes, I am using music by James Horner as part of the soundtrack for this fan fiction. Why? Well... watch the sequence where Shinji prepares to use Eva 01 for the first time (either the original NGE version or the Rebuild 1.0 version), and let  _Combat Drop_  play over it. You'll understand. Oh, yeah, for some chapters, I will list each piece of music in the Author's Notes section to detail when and where each piece is played... so as to avoid spoiling things most of the time. For most chapters, though, I will have the track listing below the music source listing.  Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  ** _not_** a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so.  Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _The Birthday of Rei Ayanami_ (2001):  _A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit ~ Ayanami Version)_  (Performed by Megumi Hayashibara).

Music From  _Neon Genesis Evangelion OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _Rei I_ ,  _Eva 01,_ _Angel Attack_.

Music From  _Godzilla 2000 Millennium_  (1999):  _Inches From Disaster_.

Music From  _Aliens_  (1986):  _Combat Drop_.

Music From  _Rebuild 1.0_  (2007):  _I'll Go On Lovin' Someone Else_ , _L'Attaque des Anges_ ,  _Les Betes (The Beast)_ , _Rei Opus IV_ ,  _Crepuscle - Tokyo III_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_ (2009) :  _A01 - Rei I_ ,  _E06 - Angel Attack [TV Remaster]_ ,  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

Music From  _Evangelion S2 Works_ (1998) :  _Everything You've Ever Dreamed_  (Performed by ARIANNE).

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Rei Opus IV_  (Introduction),  **02**.  _E06 -_ _Angel Attack [TV Remaster]_  (Sachiel vs. JSSDF),  **03**.  _Inches From Disaster_  (Misato picks up Shinji),  **04**.  _Crepescule - Tokyo III_  (Entering the Geofront),  **05**.  _I'll Go On Lovin' Someone Else_  (Shinji meets Unit 01 and Rei),  **06**.  _Combat Drop_  (Eva Unit 01 preparing for Launch/Launching Unit 01),  **07**.  _Les Betes_  (Unit 01 goes berserk),  **08**.  _A01 - Rei I_  (Aftermath).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**09**.  _F2 -_ _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit)(Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 01: Step Forward Into Terror**

* * *

**[Track 01 (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2CktQ5EGVs) **

**INTRODUCTION**

**ON DECEMBER 25, 2025, THE CATACLYSMIC EVENT KNOWN AS 2nd IMPACT OCCURRED.**

**ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL SOURCES, A METEOR STRUCK DOWN IN ANTARCTICA, THE IMPACT OF WHICH CAUSED THE EARTH'S VERY AXIS TO SHIFT, LEADING TO LOSS OF LIFE ON A PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN SCALE AS RAPIDLY CHANGING TIDES, EARTHQUAKES, AND TSUNAMIS DECIMATED COASTAL REGIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, LEADING TO LOSS OF LIFE, RESOURCES, AND LIVING SPACE FOR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE.**

**THE RECORDED HUMAN POPULATION PRIOR TO 2nd IMPACT WAS 7.8 BILLION INDIVIDUALS.**

**THE RECORDED HUMAN POPULATION FOLLOWING 2nd IMPACT WAS 4.6 BILLION INDIVIDUALS.**

**AT LEAST EIGHTY MILLION DIFFERENT PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES WENT EXTINCT AS A RESULT OF 2nd IMPACT, ADDING TO THE LOSS OF FOOD AND OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES USED BY THE EARTH'S HUMAN POPULATION.**

**DUE TO THE MASSIVE LOSS OF RESOURCES AND LIVING SPACE, NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD BEGAN FIGHTING ONE ANOTHER FOR ACCESS TO WHAT REMAINED, LEADING TO A YEAR OF BLOODY ARMED CONFLICTS, KNOWN COLLECTIVELY AS THE IMPACT WARS.**

**BY THE TIME THE LAST CONFLICT WAS SETTLED, THE REMAINING HUMAN POPULATION HAD BEEN FURTHER REDUCED TO 3.2 BILLION RECORDED INDIVIDUALS.**

**ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL SOURCES, SHORTLY AFTER THE METEOR HIT ANTARCTICA, A SERIES OF ANCIENT TEXTS WERE DISCOVERED.**

**EARLY TRANSLATIONS OF THESE TEXTS REVEALED THE EXISTENCE AND EVENTUAL REAPPEARANCE OF ANCIENT GODLIKE LIFE FORMS, CALLED "ANGELS", WHICH WERE DESCRIBED AS BEING CAPABLE OF CAUSING DESTRUCTION ON A SCALE SIMILAR TO OR GREATER THAN THAT OF 2nd IMPACT.**

**TO PREVENT A THIRD IMPACT FROM OCCURRING, THE UNITED NATIONS FORMED A NEW ORGANIZATION, CALLED GEHIRN, A MASSIVE GLOBE-SPANNING RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION.**

**WITHIN A FEW YEARS, THE U.N. TRANSFORMED GEHIRN INTO NERV, A PARAMILITARY ORGANIZATION DEVOTED TO DEVELOPING WAYS TO STOP THESE ANGELS WHEN THEY FINALLY APPEARED.**

**IT HAS BEEN 17 YEARS SINCE 2nd IMPACT, AND HUMANITY HAS BEEN WAITING...**

* * *

**Somewhere in Japan, Tuesday, June 10, 2042 A.D.**

Standing in the middle of a seemingly abandoned city, 16 year-old Shinji Ikari looked at the picture in his left hand of an attractive 30-something year old woman with long dark hair and skimpy clothes. There was a small arrow drawn that pointed at her cleavage, with a message saying, 'LOOK HERE!', along with a lipstick kiss. The woman's name had been scribbled up near the top right hand corner of the front of the photo, barely legible. The picture had a time and date listed on the back for when this woman was supposed to pick Shinji up, along with an address. Shinji had arrived on time, but with the city being seemingly abandoned, he was beginning to wonder if there had been a mistake.

A few days earlier, he had received a phone call from his father, telling him to come to Tokyo-3, and that he would be provided transportation. Looking around at the abandoned city, with alarms starting to blare in the background, Shinji sighed in frustration. "This had better not be a cruel joke," he muttered to no one in particular. Taking his cell phone out of his pocket, he looked up his contact list, before he realized that he didn't really have anyone listed except himself and his uncle.

He prepared to dial, until his phone flashed a 'NO SERVICE' message. "What? But there are cell towers all over the place," Shinji said in confusion as he looked around. He then heard a flock of birds cry out as they flew away from a nearby tree, drawing Shinji's attention to the mountain range. He quickly pocketed his phone before he spotted an old archaic pay phone nearby.

Ignoring the birds in the air, Shinji walked over to the pay-phone and counted the coins he had in pocket, soon realizing that he hadn't brought enough with him. "Well... that figures," he muttered to himself before letting out a sigh of frustration. "This sucks," he said to himself.

He then heard a faint buzzing noise, which grew louder and closer with every passing second, followed by a faint boom. Looking over at a puddle of water nearby, Shinji saw ripples in the water as the thooming noise grew nearer. Looking back at the tree line, and the mountains in the distance, Shinji soon heard the sounds of helicopter blades spinning, along with something else he couldn't immediately identify.

After a few more minutes passed, the noises Shinji heard finally become recognizable as several military Vertical Take Off and Landing craft flew overhead, each one armed to the teeth with weaponry. Several helicopters flew in formation nearby, and Shinji soon felt the ground shake as the tremors grew closer. "What the hell's going on?" Shinji asked, just before a power line collapsed nearby, falling to the ground with a thud.

Looking up ahead, Shinji soon saw the cause of the tremors. It was a large, black beast, with broad shoulders, and various bone-like protrusions covering its body, with one in the center-top region of its torso that resembled a bird-like skull. In the center of the monster's chest region was a large red orb, surrounded on the left and right sides by what appeared to be rib-like protrusions along the torso. On the shoulders of the creature were what resembled large smooth pads.

Shinji's mouth dropped in awe as he took in the sight of the beast, until he saw its skull glance down at him, glowing dots in each eye hole peering down like flood lights. Shinji's mouth went dry, and his eyes widened as he struggled to find the strength to move, until the beast turned its attention to the aircraft surrounding it. After what seemed to be a tense stand off, the Japan Strategic Self Defense Force began firing at the beast, with every single bullet and missile hitting the target, but doing nothing to scratch it.

As the gunfire rang out, Shinji covered his ears and forced himself to run away to safety, if any part of the abandoned city could even be called that at the moment.

* * *

**NERV HQ, Japan-Branch, Hakone Geo-Front...**

Sitting at a desk near the top of the control room, NERV Commander Gendo Ikari watched the footage of the battle with mild disinterest. The military generals in front of him, however, kept their eyes looking forward. "Dammit, not a scratch on it!" one of them said angrily.

Standing next to Gendo, Vice Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki merely inhaled and exhaled in a seemingly bored fashion. "The Third Angel has appeared, Ikari," Fuyutsuki said. Gendo subtly nodded his head in agreement. "Yes. This one is known in the Dead Sea Scrolls as Sachiel," Gendo noted as he continued watching the battle on the screen, his tinted glasses reflecting the light of the explosions.

"It had to come today of all days, didn't it?" Fuyutsuki asked with a sigh. Gendo said nothing in response. "We should have had him brought here sooner," Fuyutsuki added. Gendo nodded his head in agreement, knowing exactly who the older man was talking about.

"Perhaps," Gendo finally said with a slight hint of contemplation in his voice.

"We haven't heard from Captain Katsuragi yet. The Angel is in the same city that Shinji was supposed to meet her in. Do you think she'll get to him in time?" Fuyutsuki asked. Gendo closed his eyes briefly before opening them, finally tearing his eyes away from the carnage on the screen to glance up at his former University Professor and current subordinate.

"Do not worry, Fuyutsuki. Despite her eccentricity and other shortcomings, I do have some degree of faith in Captain Katsuragi's abilities," Gendo replied sharply, before returning his attention to the screen once more. Realizing that Gendo would not say anything further, Fuyutsuki nodded his head.

"Very well then. I  _hope_  you are right," Fuyutsuki said before he returned his own attention to the screen as well, watching as the Japan Strategic Self Defense Force continued their ineffective barrage against the Angel.  The screen lit up as the massive creature destroyed vehicle after vehicle, with nothing able to slow it down as it continued its march through the city.

* * *

**Inside A Car...**

"Aw,  _shit!_ " Captain Misato Katsuragi swore as she saw the military fighting the behemoth up ahead. "Dammit! Why didn't I take that turn-off ramp when I was supposed to!?" Misato asked herself in an annoyed whine. Checking the car's clock, she noted that she was already fifteen minutes behind schedule.

"Good going, Misato. If you'd been paying attention, you'd already have the kid  _and_  be on your way back to the Geo-Front by now," she grumbled to herself as she drove her blue Renault Alpine A310 into the empty streets of the city, searching for the young man she had been charged with picking up. The further inward she drove, the louder the sounds of battle became, even with the car windows rolled up. She sincerely hoped that her charge was somewhere far,  _far_   _away_ from the battle raging in the city center.

* * *

[Track 02 (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7lyY4Kn6WA)

**Somewhere Very, _Very Close_ To The Battle Raging In The City Center**

Shinji screamed in fright as a burning helicopter struck down just meters away from him, fiery shrapnel flying everywhere as he tripped and fell back into a bench on a sidewalk. "This isn't happening! This can't be happening!" Shinji cried out in panic as he saw another VTOL explode in the air after the monster shot a bright lance from its right hand into the aircraft. Another VTOL managed to avoid being destroyed outright, but it was heavily damaged and spinning out of control as it descended to the city streets, crashing into the ground in a fiery explosion.

"I-I've gotta get out of here!" Shinji exclaimed in a panic as he tried to stand up, just moments before another attack helicopter crashed into the roof of the building behind him, showering debris onto the street below, with a broken blade falling meter feet away from Shinji as he darted away from the bench.  _I must run away! I must run away! I must run away_ , Shinji thought to himself as the ancient instinct of self-preservation kicked into high gear.

The sounds of battle continued all around him as the remaining VTOLs fired volley after volley of missiles and bullets at the monster, still to no avail. As the aerial vehicles continued circling the black monolithic giant, Shinji heard the sound of tires on pavement. Looking away from the battle, he saw a blue car speeding towards him.  _Well... if I don't get killed by shrapnel, I'll get run over by someone instead. My life sucks_ , Shinji thought to himself in resignation as his legs refused to move him out of the way.

The car soon skidded to a halt as the driver angled the vehicle so that the passenger door was facing Shinji. The door quickly opened from inside, and Shinji saw a woman with dark hair holding it open, leaning over the center console while wearing a red jacket over a black shirt. "Shinji Ikari, right?" the woman asked him.

"Y-Yeah. That's me!" Shinji replied with wide eyes as he looked around at the chaos and destruction.

"Good! I need you to get in the car," the woman said hurriedly. Shinji quickly recognized her as the woman on the photograph sent to him. Her name was... Misao? No, it was something else.  _Misato? I think that's it_ , Shinji thought to himself as he studied her face. "Don't wait, kid! Come on!" she exclaimed as another VTOL crashed into a building nearby, its flaming body smashing inside through a window while fiery pieces of debris fell the ground outside. Shinji nodded his head with a gulp and quickly darted forward, his hands grabbing onto the car seat and pulling himself inside before grabbing the door and slamming it shut.

Shinji hurriedly put on his seat belt as Misato pulled the car away, just seconds before a giant foot came crashing down onto the ground where Shinji had been standing just seconds earlier. "Hang on!" Misato exclaimed as she put the car into high gear and continued backing away, her head turning left and right as she tried to keep herself from crashing the backwards-moving vehicle. Another foot came down near them, causing the ground to shake and the car to jump in the air for a fraction of a second.

Shinji could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage as Misato sped her car backwards at full speed before making a sharp K-turn, causing him to lurch around in his seat, before Misato hit the gas again and sped off through the town while finally facing forward. Another attack helicopter crashed down on the street just meters behind the car, shrapnel flying everywhere and lancing against the side of the car. "Shit! I hope that didn't hit my tires! I just got them replaced," Misato spat as she glanced at the rear-view mirror.

Returning her attention to the road in front of them, Misato floored the gas pedal, slowing down only slightly when she needed to take a corner or to avoid a utility pole falling down in front of them. Soon, a damaged helicopter crashed onto the street in front of them, and Misato had no choice but to move the car onto the sidewalk. "This is gonna be rough," she said to Shinji as she maneuvered the car, scraping her side doors against the outer walls of several shops before finally passing the flaming wreckage of the military helicopter.  In the passenger seat, Shinji could practically feel his heart trying to escape from his chest as he breathed rapidly through his nose, keeping his mouth shut in an attempt to stop himself from screaming bloody murder at the chaos around him. Misato quickly brought her car back onto the road proper and continued gunning forward at top speed, eventually escaping back out onto the highway.

As Misato and Shinji escaped the burning city, the massive beast continued its destruction of the JSSDF vehicles attacking it without slowing down. Soon, all thirty of the attack craft sent to hold it off had been destroyed, their wreckage burning on the streets below or in the sides of buildings they had crashed into. Soon, however, another wave of attack vehicles swooped in from the East, launching barrage after barrage of missiles, rockets, and bullets at the beast. Again, this did nothing the slow its progress as it continued its slow march through the city.

As the sounds of battle became faint noise in the distance, Misato began to slow down the car. She didn't let up on the gas too much, but she didn't want to blow out her tires either. After a few more minutes had passed, Misato let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Oh boy, that was a close one," she said to herself. Misato quickly glanced over at the boy in the seat next to hers, his right hand clutching his chest as he took deep breaths, while his left hand clutched the edge of the seat itself, his knuckles white from fear.

"So... um, sorry I'm late," Misato said apologetically. "I... uh, missed a turn off... or two. I'm really not used to driving around these parts," she explained sheepishly. Shinji glanced over at her, his eyes still wide and his heart still pounding in his chest from their recent ordeal, although his breathing had slowly started to return to normal. "Uh-huh," Shinji grunted with a nod of his head.

"By the way, my name's Misato," Misato said as she took one hand off the steering wheel to reach across the aisle.  Shinji hesitantly reached out with one hand and shook hers before letting go.

"I know," Shinji replied, slowly nodding his head.  Misato raised an eyebrow at him briefly, still keeping most of her attention on the road.

"Really?" she asked him in return.  Shinji slowly nodded his head again.

"Yeah. Your name is... on that picture you sent me," Shinji explained, his heart rate having finally slowed down and his breathing having fully returned to normal.

"Oh, right. Gotcha," Misato said with a smile.  "It was a nice picture, wasn't it?" she asked him teasingly.  Shinji resisted the urge to roll his eyebrows, although a slight blush did rise to his cheeks.

"Mm, yeah.  It's uh, a very nice picture.  Good camera angle and use of lighting," Shinji said sharply, still addled by recent events.  "Um, by the way, Misato?" Shinji asked the woman.

"Yeah?" she asked him.

"What the  _hell_  is going on!?" Shinji asked her excitedly. "What was that  _thing_  back there!? Why was it attacking us!? Where did it come from!?" Shinji asked her.

"Well, that thing that attacked us back there is called an Angel," Misato stated in a calm tone. Shinji looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"A  _what?_ " he asked her. "An Angel," Misato reiterated. "That didn't look like an angel to me," Shinji said. "Well, that's just the term we use for them," Misato elaborated. "In actuality... they're an alien life form. Angel is just a convenient term derived from a mistranslation of ancient texts that accompanied the remains of the first two found on Earth in the mid Twenty-Tens," Misato elaborated further.

"Wait... what?" Shinji asked her, confused.

"That Angel back there isn't the first one to appear on Earth, Shinji. At least two others have been found before, but both of them were dormant when they were discovered... initially," Misato said, remembering the day her father and millions of other people around the world died after the first Angel, ADAM, was accidentally awakened. "You know about Second Impact, right?" Misato asked Shinji as she continued to drive along the highway.

"Yeah, why?" Shinji asked her in return. "Do you know what caused it?" Misato asked him pointedly. "Yeah. A meteor crashed into Antarctica in the year Twenty-Twenty-Five," Shinji replied. "Wrong. There was no meteor. That's just the official  _cover story_  for what really happened, but since you're now a member of NERV, you get to hear the  _truth_ ," Misato said, occasionally glancing at her rear-view mirror to check for signs of the Angel, since it was heading for the same destination as herself.

"The truth? Wait a minute... are you saying that... Second Impact was caused by one of those... Angels?" Shinji asked her, remembering what she had just said about there having been two other Angels discovered prior to this one's appearance.

"Yes. The first Angel, Adam, was accidentally awakened during a scientific experiment in Antarctica. I was there when it happened, Shinji. My father, the head of the Katsuragi Expedition, died during the incident, and while he and the remaining members of the research team succeeded in subduing Adam... they couldn't stop the after-effects of Adam's awakening. My father died shortly after Adam was subdued, having been fatally injured when Adam detonated itself. He'd used his body to shield me from the explosion," Misato explained in a solemn tone.

"I actually have a scar of my own from the incident, but I might show it to you when we're finally somewhere safe. Although... it's not exactly somewhere that would be appropriate for me to show someone your age, now that I think about it," Misato said thoughtfully. Shinji slowly nodded his head as he quietly processed everything that Misato had just told him.

"Well... at least your father gave a damn about you," Shinji finally said.

Misato raised an eyebrow at his words. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked him curiously.

" _Your_ father willingly sacrificed himself to save your life. I know that mine would never even  _think_  of doing the same for me," Shinji said with a hint of anger in his voice.  Misato furrowed her brows at him.

"How can you be so sure?" Misato asked him curiously.

" _Because_... he abandoned me when I was only five years old. It was just after my mom died, and he abandoned me when I needed him the most," Shinji said with a scowl on his face. Misato slowly nodded her head in understanding.

"Well... at least you still have one living parent," Misato finally said. "My mother... she died a few years after I graduated from college. I've been on my own ever since," Misato said with a forlorn sigh.

"At least you got to know her that long," Shinji said in response.

"Yeah," Misato said softly, nodding her head in agreement. "I wish it had been longer, though," she added with a hint of sadness in her voice. Shinji quietly nodded his head in understanding. He knew how it felt to be alone.

Glancing into her rear-view mirror, Misato saw something curious. There were fighter craft in the air, but they were flying away from what looked like the Angel in the far distance. The Angel itself was far enough away that it looked like an ant in the distance, but with the fighter craft soon flying high over her car, Misato knew that she needed to hit the gas.

"Hold on, Shinji," Misato said as the car began to pick up speed again.

"Huh? Did that thing catch up with us!?" Shinji asked her fearfully.

"No, but something  _else_  might," Misato said as he car soon reached a speed of 120 miles per hour, zooming across the empty highway.

"What do you mean? What's gonna catch up with us?" Shinji asked her, confused.

"An aerial strike. The JSSDF is moving its forcess  _away_  from the target. That means they're planning to-" Misato was cut off as a bright light appeared in the distance, almost blinding in its intensity.

" _Oh Shit!_ Just hold on!" Misato exclaimed shortly before she and Shinji felt the quakes and tremors of the blast start catching up with the section of road they were driving on.

"N-Now what!?" Shinji cried out in fear.

"They just dropped an N-Two mine!" Misato explained as she kept her foot on the gas pedal. The tires of her Alpine screeched against the pavement as she pushed them to keep ahead of the shockwaves created by the explosion far in the distance.

"A  _what!?_ " Shinji asked her.

"N-Two; it means non-nuclear. It's the heaviest weapon in the Self Defense Force's arsenal. It may not reach the same yield as a nuke, but it also lacks the fallout as well. That being said, you do  _not_  want to be near the blast radius," Misato explained as she felt the tremors subsiding, eventually slowing down the car again.

"So... did they get it?" Shinji asked her as he looked over his shoulder at the back window.

"I want to say yes, but... It's impossible to tell right now," Misato said, seeing the dark clouds and plumes of smoke rising from the orange glow of the fires in the rear-view mirror.

"Huh?" Shinji asked her.

"Look, whether or not they succeeded, I ain't stoppin'," Misato said as she kept driving the car forward.

* * *

**Back At NERV HQ...**

Looking at the static screen, the JSSDF generals all began congratulating themselves on a job well done against the Angel. One of them looked up at Ikari and Fuyutsuki with a smug smirk on his face. "Well, Commander Ikari, it seems that we won't be needing your help after all," the general said.

Gendo said nothing. He merely pointed a gloved finger toward the screen as it cleared. "I-Impossible!" another general said, causing the first one to turn around and gasp in shock. On the screen, Sachiel stood amidst the flaming remains of the countryside. Its bird-like mask had been cracked, and it had burn marks all over it, but as its flesh bubbled and simmered, a new mask began to grow underneath the old one, eventually pushing it out of the way before Sachiel reached up and gingerly removed the old mask from his face, dropping the cracked shell onto the decimated forest floor below.

"It... it just regenerated itself. Healed its wounds like nothing had even happened," one general said in complete awe.

"That's it, then. The N-Two mine was our last resort," one particularly shaken general said.

"Wait, couldn't we just drop another one onto it? It seemed to be  _injured_  by the first one," one optimistic general suggested.

"No. We'd need to drop a hundred mines onto that thing. Plus, with the way that thing can regenerate itself, it would be pointless, and far too destructive," another general said in response. The highest ranking of the generals, General Kisuke Hikawa, turned around to look at Gendo and Fuyutsuki.

"Gentlemen... this operation is now under the jurisdiction of NERV," Hikawa said reluctantly.

Gendo, his face obscured by how he had his hands postured, smirked. "Of course, General.  After all, that's what NERV is for," he said.

Hikawa sighed in response. "Lets hope that these... toys of yours can do a better job than we did," the general said begrudgingly. Gendo said nothing in response, and the general merely returned his attention to the screen.

* * *

[Track 04 (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnkgQandcEQ)

**Outskirts of Tokyo-3, 30 Minutes Later...**

"Okay, we're almost there," Misato said as she drove the car into a dark mountain tunnel. Soon, they came upon a large gate, guarded by armed NERV personnel. As Misato came to a stop and rolled down her car window, one of them stepped forward.

"Identification?" he asked her. Misato whipped out her ID badge and held it up for him to see.

"As you were, Captain," the guard said with a nod of his head.

"Hey, could you call HQ and tell them that I'm on my way? I dropped my phone under the seat earlier," Misato requested.

"Yes, Ma'am," the guard said before he walked over to a door and entered a small box room, picking up a phone after opening the gate to let Misato drive her car forward and onto an elevator platform.

The gate slowly closed behind Misato's car and the platform began to descend. Inside the car, Misato let out a breath. "Whew! We're almost there," Misato said in relief as she looked over at Shinji. After Shinji had told her about his father, the boy had become somewhat withdrawn and quiet.

Reaching down to retrieve her cell phone from under the car seat, Misato felt a large envelope under the tips of her fingers. "Oh! I almost forgot," she said as she pulled out the envelope and handed it to Shinji before bending over again to retrieve her phone. Shinji opened the envelope and looked at the documents held inside of it, including an ID card, several pamphlets, and a handbook for NERV employees.

Shinji looked at the logo on the front of the envelope, reading its banner.

WELCOME TO NERV. GOD'S IN HIS HEAVEN. ALL'S RIGHT WITH THE WORLD.

"Huh. So I have a job now?" Shinji asked rhetorically as Misato finally reached her phone and pulled it up from the floor.

"Well  _shit_ ," she muttered as she looked at the battery life displayed on the screen. Shinji raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Misato, who held up the phone to show him the screen. "I forgot the charge the damn thing before taking off," she explained with lament in her voice.

"Hm," Shinji mumbled as he returned his attention to various pamphlets from the envelope. "So, how much did your father explain to you when he called you here?" Misato asked absentmindedly.

"Not much. He just said to come to Tokyo-3, arrive at the address on the card sent to me in the mail, and that things would be explained in greater detail after I arrived," Shinji replied with a shrug.

"Really? He didn't tell you anything else?" Misato asked him curiously.

"Nope," Shinji replied, shaking his head.

"Huh. You're right. He  _does_  have problems communicating with people," Misato said.

"Assuming he's even a  _person_ ," Shinji remarked darkly. "Sometimes... I wonder if he ever loved me at all. I mean, as soon as my mother died, he just sent me away to live with my uncle and his family. The first time I saw him again... he didn't even act like he was happy to see me. He just... saw me as something that existed," Shinji said with a sigh.

"How long ago did your mother die again?" Misato asked him.

"Nearly eleven years ago," Shinji replied, keeping his eyes focused on the ID card in his hands. "The last time I saw my father was... I think eight years ago, maybe seven. I'm not too sure," Shinji said quietly.

"Hm... I guess my father certainly does seem better now in retrospect," Misato said as she leaned back against her car seat. "I mean, he was a workaholic, and he rarely spent time at home with me or my mom, but... he was caring and affectionate from time to time," she reminisced, her eyes gazing out the car door window. "And... as I said before, he gave his life to save mine. I used to  _hate_  my father when I was younger, right up until Adam woke up, and then... I've spent years trying to figure out my feelings for the man. I guess I can say that he was a flawed man who cared about his family, but didn't really know how to show it," Misato said.

"That's still leagues ahead of my own father," Shinji said in reply. Soon, the elevator's interior gave way to a view that caused Shinji to drop the envelope in his hands. "Holy... is that? Is that a  _real_  Geo-Front!?" he asked excitedly, a smile plastered on his face as he saw the modular buildings in the cavern ceiling, before gazing down at the pyramid structure next to a large lake and forest below. Behind the pyramid structure was a large curved wall, while surrounding the pyramid in four locations were large opaque metal shafts that shot up from the ground, resembling support struts as they attached to the bottom of what was Tokyo-3. Several more large shafts ran along the side of the interior walls, some disappearing into the cave walls themselves.

"Yep. This is NERV HQ, Shinji," Misato said.

"Hey, Misato... did my father tell  _you_  anything about why he wanted me here?" Shinji suddenly asked the woman sitting next to him.

"Me? Well, not really,  _although_... I  _do_  have my suspicions," Misato replied.

"Uh-huh. And... what do you suspect he wants me for?" Shinji asked her curiously. Misato reached up and scratched the back of her head.

"Well... have you ever heard of Project Evangelion?" Misato asked Shinji.

"Evangelion?" Shinji asked her in return. He felt a small nagging sensation in the back of his head, as the name seemed... vaguely familiar. He couldn't be positive, but he felt as though he'd heard the word somewhere before, although he couldn't remember when or where he'd heard it.

"It sounds... kind of familiar. But... I'm not sure I know what it is," Shinji finally replied.

"Okay, let me give you some basic information," Misato said to the 16-year old boy. "Project Eva is NERV's solution for stopping the Angels. Basically, what we have are giant...  _cyborgs_ , for lack of a better term. You'll understand better once we meet up with Ritsuko," Misato said.

"Ritsuko?" Shinji asked her.

"Mm-hm. Ritsuko Akagi, head of NERV's research department. She and I are pretty good friends, so if you need to know anything about the Evas, just ask her or ask me to ask her," Misato said.

"Okay. Akagi... have I heard that name before?" Shinji asked himself, as the nagging sensation in the back of his head began to grow even more. A brief, murky image of a middle-aged woman with curly brunette hair entered his head, before it quickly went away.

"So... these Evangelions are giant cyborgs. What exactly am I needed for again?" Shinji asked Misato.

"Well, I think... I think Commander Ikari wants you to pilot one of them," Misato said uneasily. Shinji blinked in confusion.

"He... he wants... he wants me to  _what?_ " he asked Misato in disbelief.

"I don't know for sure, but it's what I  _suspect_  he called you here for," Misato said apologetically.

"Figures. I was kind of hoping... that maybe, just maybe, he'd found his heart and wanted to be my father again. I... I guess I should've known better," Shinji said forlornly. Misato reached over and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, for what it's worth... I'm sorry, Shinji," Misato said. Shinji just nodded his head with a sigh. The rest of the elevator ride continued in silence.

* * *

**Inside NERV HQ...**

Ritsuko Akagi swore up and down as she made her way over to the nearest elevator. "Damn it all, she was supposed to be here an _hour ago_ ," she grumbled as she passed by several technicians fixing a ceiling light in a corridor. As she made her way over to the visitor's lobby, Ritsuko took a few seconds to compose herself before opening the door.

Standing in the middle of the lobby were a young boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a white button-up shirt and black slacks, and a woman only two years younger then herself with raven hair and a red jacket. She was busy yelling into a wall-mounted phone, while the boy was looking at her curiously. Stepping forward, Ritsuko held out a hand to the boy, who hesitantly took it and gave her a brief shake.

There was the briefest glimpse of recognition in his eyes, as though he could remember meeting her before.  _Of course, that was over ten years ago. He's probably blocked the entire incident from his memory by this point_ , Ritsuko thought to herself as she remembered the one time the boy had indeed met her, back when they were both far, far younger.

Ritsuko then turned her attention to Misato. "Well, where is she!? Come on, Hyuga! Ritsuko's supposed to be waiting for us so that she can bring the kid up to speed!" Misato yelled into the phone as Ritsuko walked up behind her. Ritsuko smirked and tapped Misato on her left shoulder. Misato merely swatted the faux blonde away.

"Not now, Rits. I'm trying to find out where...  _oh_ ," Misato said in embarrassment. "Uh, sorry about that, Hyuga. I found her. Bye," she said before hanging up the phone and turning to look at Ritsuko. Ritsuko sighed at Misato's antics.

"You're  _late_ , Misato," Ritsuko said with an annoyed tone of voice.

"I... I took a couple of wrong turns and missed a few right ones on the way up there," Misato said sheepishly.

"And you couldn't call to let us know that you would be late?" Ritsuko asked her pointedly, squinting her eyes to add to the glare.

"I was going to, but I dropped my phone and it fell under the seat. I... also forgot to charge it last night," Misato said sheepishly.

"Sometimes," Ritsuko said in exasperation, "I wonder  _how_  you ever became the Operations Director."

" _We~ellll_..." Misato started as she looked away from Ritsuko.

"Alright, look. We don't have much time," Ritsuko said brusquely before she switched her attention to Shinji.

"I take it you're Shinji Ikari?" Ritsuko asked him, despite already knowing the answer.

"Yes, Ma'am," Shinji replied.

"Good. Please, follow me. I'll take you to Cage 01, where the Eva is located right now. We currently have it submerged for a maintenance test that was supposed to happen later tonight," Ritsuko explained as she motioned for Shinji and Misato to follow her through the corridors of NERV HQ. Shinji made a quick jog to catch up with the woman as Misato fell into step behind her.

"However, with circumstances being what they are today, we had to move up our time-table considerably. So, Evangelion Unit One is technically ready for launch. She just needs a pilot," Ritsuko finished as she continued leading the duo through the maze-like corridors of NERV HQ.

Looking at Ritsuko from behind, Shinji couldn't help but feel as though he'd seen her somewhere before. It was hazy, but there was something familiar about Ritsuko Akagi, something from a long time ago in his childhood. If only he could remember what that was.

"Um, excuse me, Miss Akagi?" Shinji asked her.

"It's Doctor Akagi, although you may call me Ritsuko, Third Child," Ritsuko replied.

 _Third Child? What does that mean?_  "Uh, okay. Um... look, I know this may seem strange, but... have we ever met before? I swear you look familiar somehow," Shinji said, causing Misato to raise an eyebrow.

"Well, if you really want to take a trip down memory lane... yes. You were here once before. It was a very long time ago, however. I'm actually surprised that you remember  _me_  at all, considering you and I only interacted very briefly," Ritsuko said, her memory of the incident playing through her mind on a loop.

 _I wonder... when he sees Unit One, how will he react? Will he remember the details at all? He saw his own mother... Dammit, Gendo! This plan of yours had better not bite us in the ass_ , Ritsuko thought to herself as she led Shinji and Misato to the Eva cage. When the trio arrived, Ritsuko swiped a key card to open the door before setting it to automatic mode. "Forgot to do that earlier today," she quipped before she noticed that the lights were off, all except for one in a large window box overlooking the cage area.

 _I know he likes to set a mood, but this... come on, Gendo_ , Ritsuko thought in annoyance as she walked over to the wall and hit the light switch, causing a series of lights hanging overhead to come to life, illuminating the room for all to see. Because Misato had taken place in front of Shinji, he hadn't been able to see the full expanse of the room when the lights came on. Walking behind Misato, Shinji soon peered out around her before he noticed something near the center of the room, just below a window box.

It was a large purple helmet with a horn on it. "This, Shinji, is humankind's ultimate multipurpose weapon against the Angels: the synthetic humanoid Evangelion!" Ritsuko announced proudly.

"Synthetic... humanoid? So, it  _is_  a cyborg, just like Misato said," Shinji noted absentmindedly, as he was busy studying the features of the monster in front of him.

 _Wait... I've seen this before_ , Shinji realized.  _But... where? Where have I seen... oh._

An image of his mother's smiling face flashed before him. The sounds of alarms going off filled his mind.  The murky images of various people inside of a room panicking began to become clearer with each passing second, as the voice of his father screaming in fear for his mother shot through his head.

 _No, this... no, no, no... it-it's the same... it's..._  Shinji's eyes widened and he began to back up from the Eva, his breathing starting to pickup as the memories came flooding back into his brain. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no! No, please, no!" Shinji cried out as the memory of the last time he saw his mother kept flashing through his head, every detail as vivid now as it had been on that very day.

"Shinji!?" Misato asked him in concern. "Shinji what's-" "I've seen this thing before! I know what this thing is, Misato!" Shinji exclaimed, shock and horror written across his face.

 _So, he remembers what happened after all_ , Ritsuko noted as she watched Shinji step back into the safety rail behind him. " _Then you also know that it is our best chance for survival_ ," came a cold and detached voice from the room's speaker systems. Everyone looked up at the window box to see a man in a dark outfit standing by himself, holding a transceiver up to his mouth, while also wearing a headset.

"Father!" Shinji yelled in recognition. " _Shinji_ ," Gendo replied tersely. "Why did you call me here!?" Shinji asked him, hoping against all odds for an answer that involved Gendo wanting to actually be his father again. " _Isn't it obvious? I finally have a use for you_ ," Gendo replied coldly.

"This... this is why you brought me here!? To  _pilot_  this... thing!?" Shinji asked him in return, his heart sinking. " _That is correct_ ," Gendo replied. "But... but this is the thing that killed mom! You expect me to get inside of it after what it did to mom!?" Shinji asked him incredulously.

" _There is no other choice. It won't accept anyone else as its pilot, and the only other person who it_   _ **does accept**  is critically injured at the moment. You are the only one who can do it_," Gendo said.

"But... I don't even have any training! How am I supposed to pilot this thing!?" Shinji retorted desperately. " _You will receive instructions_ ," Gendo replied. Just then a slight tremor shook the base. " _It's here. Shinji, we don't have much time. You can either pilot the Eva, or go away. I have no use for someone who intends to stand around doing nothing_ ," Gendo said firmly.

"I...I can't! I  _can't!_  Not after... not after remembering what it did to mother!" Shinji cried out fearfully, the memory of he and his father finding a puddle of orange goo in the cockpit pushing itself to the forefront of his mind. " _That problem has since been fixed, Shinji. The Eva will not do that anymore_ ," Gendo said.

"Then why don't  _you_  pilot it!?" Shinji shot back. " _It won't accept me_ ," Gendo said bluntly, causing Misato to look at him in bewilderment before turning her attention to Ritsuko, just before another tremor was felt throughout the facility. " _Shinji, time is short. Will you pilot the Evangelion?_ " Gendo asked his son point blank.

"N-No! I won't do it! I  _can't do it!_  Not... not after... I still remember what it did to Mom! I just can't do it!" Shinji cried as he sank to his knees, the memory of his mother's death replaying in his mind over and over again in unrelentingly sharp and painful detail.

Up in the window box, Gendo scowled before letting out a sigh. "Very well then," he muttered before tapping on his headset. "Fuyutsuki, I need Rei sent to the holding cage immediately," Gendo said.

" _Are you sure? She can barely walk,_ " Fuyutsuki replied over the headset.

"Patch me through to her," Gendo commanded. A few seconds later, he heard a small ping from the headset. "Rei, are you able to move?" Gendo asked through the headset.

" _Y-Yes... Commander. I still function_ ," Rei replied.

"Good. I'm sorry to have to do this, Rei, but the designated pilot for Unit 01 is unusable. You will have to take his place," Gendo said.

" _I understand_ ," was the soft reply. "Good," Gendo said before switching channels and grabbing the transceiver from the control terminal in front of him.

"This is Commander Ikari. Medical staff must escort Pilot Ayanami to Eva Holding Cage One immediately," he said, just before another tremor shook the base.  _It's getting closer_ , Gendo thought to himself worriedly.

A few minutes later, down in the holding area, a door opened and two medical technicians strolled out with a metal gurney between them. On the gurney was a pale white girl with blue hair, red eyes, and multiple bandages covering her face, arms, and legs. Her left arm was in a sling, while an IV drip was attached to her right arm. A bandage wrapped around her face covered her left eye, while her right eye was left uncovered, showing off her piercing red eye. Shinji noticed the girl almost immediately.

[Track 05 (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qnuJXFNyDM)

Just as the gurney passed by him and Misato, another tremor, one more powerful than the others, shook the base, causing equipment and ceiling struts to fall apart and collapse. The lights flickered, and there was a loud crashing sound from somewhere nearby, along with the sound of water sloshing around. Alarms began going off, before they were silenced.

" ** _ATTENTION! ATTENTION! THE ENEMY HAS DAMAGED GEO-SHIELD LAYERS ONE THROUGH EIGHT! ALL EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS REMAIN ON STANDBY!_** " a female voice called out over the intercom.

During the quake, the gurney had fallen over, flinging the girl onto the floor. Hearing her gasp in pain caused something to stir within Shinji, and he ran over to the girl, gently placing his arms under her back as he held her, feeling the blood seeping from her bandages and onto his arms and hands. The girl gasped in pain yet again. "The... the entry plug," she said through gritted teeth. "Get...get me into the entry plug," she requested, just before another tremor shook the base. Looking up, Shinji finally saw the giant purple arm and hand hovering over the walkway.

Standing beneath the arm and hand, Ritsuko glanced between the limb and Shinji, her intimate knowledge of the Eva's inner workings and other secrets within NERV allowing her to accurately deduce why the cyborg had protected the boy. Misato, however, was bewildered as she tried to understand how the cyborg had moved any of its limbs on its own. Ritsuko had to restrain herself from sighing at Misato's lack of knowledge on the subject. She would eventually tell her friend in due time, but there were other things required far more immediate attention.

In the window box, Gendo smirked at the sight of Shinji holding Rei in his arms.  _Will you run away now, Shinji?_  Gendo then watched as Shinji looked between the girl and the Eva. He knew that his son had more of a heart than he himself did, and he was counting on that to help Shinji make his decision. Even from a distance, Gendo could see his son coming to a decision as he continued glancing between the girl and the Evangelion.

_This girl's in no condition to fight... or do much of ANYTHING for that matter! If she goes out there... she'll be killed! I-I can't let that happen! I...I won't run away. I won't run away from this, I won't!_

Soon, Shinji looked back up at the window box.  _You were really going to send someone this badly injured out there to their death? What is WRONG with you, father? I hope I don't regret this_ , Shinji thought to himself. "Okay... _I'll do it!_ " Shinji shouted with a grimace on his face.

" _Good. Attention all personnel, please standby for activation of Unit One_ ," Gendo announced over the bases intercom system.

Still holding the girl in his arms, Shinji took a deep breath, before noticing the girl staring at him in bewilderment. This close to her, Shinji saw that her eyes truly were red, and not merely an effect of the room's lighting. Due to her fall and hard landing, much of her face was now covered in spots of blood, and looking more closely at her blue hair, Shinji could find no traces of any other colors to indicate that her hair was dyed. A small whimper of pain from the girl brought Shinji's attention back to her piercing red eye. Both teenagers locked eyes for a moment, before the girl winced in pain once more as she struggled to move. "Hey, take it easy. Don't push yourself," Shinji said softly as Ritsuko came over and helped him get the girl onto the gurney after getting it back upright.

Taking one last glance up at the window box, Shinji frowned at his father's silhouette.

* * *

**EVA Holding Cage 01, Ten Minutes Later...**

Sitting in the entry plug of Unit 01, with two strange triangular devices clipped into his hair, Shinji Ikari took a deep breath. He listened in on the various communication and radio chatter between work crews as the prepped the Evangelion for launch. "This is  _suicide_ ," Shinji muttered to himself as he stared down at the control yokes. "I'm gonna die in here, just like Mom did," he muttered again. "Except... maybe this time there might be a body to recover," he added grimly.

* * *

  **NERV Command Center/Control Room**

All around the holding cage, there was a form of organized chaos as technicians performed their duties, while far away inside the control room, Gendo stood above Misato and Ritsuko as they watched video feed of every area of the holding cage. "Commander, I don't want to overstep my bounds, but... why didn't you have Shinji brought here earlier?" Misato asked as she looked up at Gendo, who was leaning over the rails of his raised platform.

"I had been hoping... that _Rei_ would have been able to pilot the Eva, while the boy would begin his pilot training. Keep in mind that I did not expect the Angel to appear when I called for him to arrive in Tokyo Three. As Doctor Akagi can tell you, Shinji's genetic code was tested and found to be compatible with the Eva. However, as all of our tests have shown... barring Rei's successful synchronization tests, it won't accept anyone else. Not even me, as Doctor Akagi can  _also_ tell you," Gendo replied, keeping a neutral tone, save for the very last part of his final sentence, where a hint of...  _something_ , Misato didn't know what, could be heard in his voice.

"If we had held off on Unit Zero's activation test today, then Rei would be piloting Unit One right now," Gendo added, almost as an afterthought. "As it stands... I made a mistake when scheduling the test for today, and now we must make do with what we have," Gendo added in an extremely rare moment of humility, accepting that something going wrong was his fault.

 _Of course, if SEELE hadn't ordered me to try using Unit 00 as the first Eva to face the Angel, I wouldn't have scheduled the test in the first place. Unit 01 is important to all of us, SEELE for their plan, and me for my own plan, but... having Rei pilot her into battle would have allowed us to achieve an easy victory over Sachiel, who will no doubt just pummel Shinji right into the ground_.  _Actually, though... watching that might be somewhat entertaining_ , Gendo thought to himself.

 _Although... perhaps I_ should _have had Shinji brought here much earlier. Maybe a few days or even a few months, at least. Of course, I didn't expect him to remember the details of his mother's death so... accurately. I was so certain that sending him away from here would cause him to forget the details of that event so it would be easier to convince him to pilot the Eva when the time came, but... Murphy's Law is a bitch. I should have brought him here sooner to get him better acclimated to the whole thing. At least then he'd have the basics of piloting and might stand a chance against Sachiel_ , Gendo thought to himself before he felt a nudge at his side. He glanced over at Fuyutsuki, who had a raised eyebrow.

"I'm thinking of how this will turn out. With an untrained pilot in the Eva... we must hope that he gets lucky," Gendo said, noticing Misato glancing his way every now and then, no doubt eavesdropping on him. Of course, it was entirely possible that she was simply trying to comprehend the fact that Gendo had admitted to making a mistake, something she had never witnessed once in the entire time she had been at NERV. It may have been mind-blowing for her.

* * *

 [Track 06 (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpIpPXaF8So)

**Back In Evangelion Unit 01...**

Shinji listened to the ongoing communication chatter over the com unit. " _Preparing LCL in T-Minus ten seconds_ ," the voice of a female technician said. " _Shinji, can you hear us? We're going to start filling the Eva's entry plug with a breathable liquid called El-Cee-El. It will help cushion your body while piloting the Eva, and it helps with the neural linkage_ ," the tech explained, just seconds before a reddish-orange, almost amber-colored liquid starting filling up the entry plug.

Immediately, the memory of his father opening Unit 01's entry plug hatch to find a pool of the same liquid entered Shinji's mind, and he found himself panicking briefly, until he forced himself to calm down and take deep breaths. Then he remembered what the tech said about the liquid being breathable, and he realized that the LCL was still rising, soon coming up to his chest. "A-Are you guys sure this is breathable!?" Shinji cried out in panic as the LCL soon reached his neck.

" _Electrolyzing LCL in three, two, one... LCL electrolyzed,_ " the female tech said calmly. A very faint and almost imperceptible shine flowed through the liquid as it continued rising up to Shinji's chin. However, Shinji didn't notice this because of how much he was panicking.

"I-I'm gonna drown in here! I'm gonna drown!" Shinji cried out, sputtering as LCL began entering his mouth. " _Shinji, relax. We've all breathed liquid for nine months. Your body will remember_ ," the technician's voice said in an attempt to calm him. Shinji heard her, but he was too busy trying to hold his breath, eventually forcing himself to open his mouth when the stuff entered his nostrils, sending a bizarre sensation through him that caused a gag-reflex as he opened his mouth in panic.

" _It's okay, Shinji. Just breath deep. Nice and slow, understand? In... and out. In... and out. Inhale... and exhale. Inhale... and exhale_ ," the female tech said as she coached him through the process of breathing the LCL.

 _It tastes like... blood. What the hell is this stuff?_  Shinji's musings were interrupted as he heard the next phase of launch begin. " _Activating remote sync node receivers_ ," the tech said. He soon felt a slight tingling sensation in his head, coming from the triangular sync node clips in his hair. And then, as the view of the entry plug changed to show the world outside the Eva along with a series of holographic or even hard-light controls and screens surrounding him, he felt...  _something_. It was... warm, almost comforting as it washed over him. He felt... safe, somehow, as though there was a friendly presence in there with him, one that he couldn't see. There was the strangest sense of familiarity to the presence.

" _You're doing good, Shinji. Sync rate is climbing up to forty-five percent and rising. Just stay calm and relax. Wow! Fifty three percent... now fifty eight percent! Sync ratio rising to sixty-three-point-five percent and holding_ ," the tech said.

Soon, klaxons began going off all throughout the holding cage, and lights began spinning as another tremor was felt, although this one was not as strong as the ones before it. " _Okay! Evangelion Unit One, prepare for launch!_ " the tech said over the com.

"Wait a minute! How do I control this thing!?" Shinji asked in a panic.  He hadn't even been given an instruction manual yet, and he was already being launched into battle.

" _Use your mind! That's what the A-Ten neural links are for, Shinji. Your thoughts control the Eva_ ," the tech replied.

"So, I just...  _think it_ , and the Eva will do it? Are you serious? That's really all there is to it?" Shinji asked incredulously over the com.

" _Yup! Keep in mind, however, that the link is not one way. You can feel what the Eva experiences through the neural feedback, depending on how high your sync rate is. The neural link is a two-way street_ ," the tech explained. " _If the Eva gets injured, you'll feel it, though you won't actually sustain the injuries yourself_ ," she finished.  " _So, just think for the Eva to do something, and it'll do it_ ," she added.

"Okay. So, if I think about shooting lasers from my eyes, will the Eva shoot lasers?" Shinji asked curiously.

" _Um... no. What I meant was that you control the Eva's actions and movements with your mind. Think for it to walk, or raise an arm, or turn its head. That kind of thing_ ," the tech explained.

" _Oh_. Okay," Shinji said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. " _Preparing for launch!_ " another voice called out over the com system. Shinji gulped as he felt the harness holding the Eva move it backwards with a shudder, just before hearing a countdown starting. " _Launching in T-Minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two... one... LAUNCH!_ "

And then the Eva lurched  _upward_. It was an odd sensation, somewhat akin to being on a roller coaster, yet at the same time... it was more restrained. This was perplexing to Shinji, although he had little time to give any thought to this, as he soon saw darkness surround the Eva as it moved upward through the deployment shaft, the giant harness and platform attached to it carrying it with great momentum.

Soon, the darkness gave way to reveal the skyline of Tokyo-3, just seconds before the holding clamps released the Eva. It was now free-standing. "Huh... it's dark already?" Shinji asked rhetorically as he looked around. Soon, loud footsteps caught his attention as he saw a large black humanoid creature step around a tall building nearby, before it turned to face the Evangelion. It was the Angel.

"Uh, M-Miss tech lady?" Shinji asked nervously as the Angel paused its movement to regard the Eva quizzically. " _You may call me Lieutenant Ibuki_ ," she replied. "Right. Um, Lieutenant Ibuki? If I die... please tell my father it's his fault," Shinji requested.

* * *

**Back Inside NERV HQ...**

" _Please tell my father it's his fault_ ," Shinji's voice said over the com system of Central Dogma's control room. Misato groaned in annoyance, while Fuyutsuki smirked as he stood next to Gendo, who was now sitting down behind the desk he always had in his spot. Gendo showed no outward signs of being affected by his son's request. Then again, a bird could crap on Gendo's head, and he  _still_  would remain silent and unflinching.

Soon, Misato walked over Lieutenant Maya Ibuki's station and grabbed a spare headset before turning it on. "Shinji, this is Misato. Sorry I've been away, but I had some business to attend to for a short period. Look, just remember what Lieutenant Ibuki told you. The Eva does what you think for it to do. Focus on making it walk, and then go from there," Misato said.

" _Right_ ," Shinji replied over the com.

* * *

**Back Up Topside...**

"Okay. One step at a time. One step at a time," Shinji said to himself as he willed the Eva to raise its right foot and move forward. The foot lifted upward and soon came down onto the pavement of the wide street below. Shinji then did the same with the left foot. He repeated this process several times, until he remembered why he was out there to begin with.

"Um... what should I do? I mean... what, uh... do I just... pummel the Angel?" Shinji asked as he realized the Eva had no weapons. Just then, the Angel lifted its right arm and hand, pointing it directly at the Eva. "Uh-oh," Shinji said with wide eyes, seconds before a bright lance of light surged forward from the Angel's hand and slammed into Unit 01's chest, knocking the Eva back onto the street.

"Aaahhh!" Shinji cried out fearfully as he felt a mild sensation in his chest. "I...I felt that. I  _felt that!_ " Shinji cried out. He soon heard a series of loud booms as the Angel walked closer, until he felt a faint pressure around his head as the Angel lifted Eva Unit 01 up into the air. Shinji gulped as he saw the Angel raised its other hand.

Sachiel's lance shot forward again and again, hitting the Eva in its helmeted head repeatedly, until it tried to lash out with its left arm. Sachiel grabbed the arm and twisted it. Inside the entry plug, Shinji cried out as he felt his own arm being twisted. "Aaarrghhh!"

" _Shinji, stay focused! Your arm isn't really being twisted! That's just feedback from the Eva! Concentrate!_ " Misato exclaimed over the com. "I-I  _can't!_ " he cried, just before the Angel snapped Unit 01's arm like a twig. Shinji felt a searing and intense pain spread from the same spot in his own arm. "Oh  _fuck!_ " he swore in anguish.

And then Sachiel resumed its assault on Unit 01's head, causing Shinji to feel pressure in his head again. He couldn't focus. He couldn't concentrate. The pain was too much for him to handle. With every hit to Unit 01's head, Shinji felt himself getting closer and closer to blacking out. "Th-This is it! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die in here!" Shinji whimpered, just before Sachiel let loose its final hit, spearing Unit 01 through the head, causing blood to spray out of the cyborg.

 _I'm gonna die in here... just like Mom_ , Shinji thought to himself before the pain overwhelmed him and he blacked out.

...

...

...

 **No... you** _**won't** _ **.**

...

...

...

As Sachiel turned around and began walking away from the Eva, which was now lying face-down on the street, it paused. It sensed something in the air. Behind Sachiel, Unit 01's eyes flashed brightly, before it began standing up, the damage to its head starting to heal itself.

Turning around, Sachiel watched as the purple cyborg rose to its full height, before breaking the bolts keeping its mouth closed and letting out a thunderous roar. For the first time in its existence, Sachiel was surprised. And, as the Eva stopped roaring and quietly looked at Sachiel with a hungry look in its eyes, for the first time in his existence, Sachiel... felt fear.

* * *

**The Command Center, NERV HQ**

"Alright, way to get back up, Shinji!" Misato exclaimed joyously. Standing next to her, Ritsuko looked at the pilot's vital readings on a monitor.

"Wait a minute, Shinji's not conscious, Misato," Ritsuko said fearfully.

"What? But then... how is-" "She's  _berserking!_ " Ritsuko gasped as the main screen showed Unit 01 charging Sachiel.

"It's  _what!?_ " Misato asked Ritsuko. "B-Berserking! She's acting on her own accord!" Ritsuko explained.

"Did you  _know_  it could do this?" Misato asked Ritsuko.

Meanwhile, behind the bridge crew, Gendo smirked as he watched the battle unfolding on the main screen.

* * *

**[Track 07 (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GUVlgvz3uM) **

**Tokyo-3, Topside...**

Unit 01 charged Sachiel at full speed, slamming into the Angel with mighty fury. Sachiel stumbled backward and fell to the ground as Unit 01 let out a vicious snarl. Noticing the Eva bending its legs in preparation for another attack, Sachiel quickly implemented his A.T. field, causing Unit 01 to lunge into an orange hexagonal field of light. Now safe from the Eva, Sachiel began to push himself up off the ground.

He then held out his right hand, and lowered the A.T. field for a split second, just before shooting out a lance of light. Unit 01 stumbled back from the attack, falling onto its side before pushing itself back up and charging at the Angel yet again. It repeatedly slammed itself against Sachiel's A.T. Field to almost no effect. Looking down at her broken arm, Unit 01 grabbed it with her good hand and realigned her bones, snapping them back into place and healing them with ease.

Unit 01 then looked at Sachiel with a feral grin, her tongue briefly darting out of her mouth to run across her teeth. Letting out another roar, Unit 01 launched forward, slamming into the A.T. Field. This time, however, she raised her own A.T. Field and placed both of her hands against Sachiel's, puncturing his field as the two fields overlapped. Unit 01 slowly spread her hands apart to rip a hole in Sachiel's field, before finally negating it with her own and stepping through to face Sachiel on even ground.

Sachiel began backing up as Unit 01 charged him, slamming her body into him and knocking him back into the ground. Shocked by this, Sachiel brought up his arms to defend himself as Unit 01 slammed a fist into his mask. Grabbing one of Sachiel's arms, Unit 01 held it firmly aside as she slammed her fist repeatedly into the Angel's face, before Sachiel used his free hand to knock Unit 01 back with a lance of light.

Quickly getting up from the ground, Sachiel prepared to deliver another blast, just as Unit 01 darted behind a building to avoid it. The lance detonated against another building in the distance, before Unit 01 reappeared from her cover and charged at him once more, grabbed both of Sachiel's arms by the wrist. With a sinister smile, Unit 01 snapped Sachiel's wrists like toothpicks, ripping his flesh and causing blood to splash out.

Lunging forward, Unit 01 pushed Sachiel onto his back before wailing on him, hitting the Angel repeatedly in the face and torso. Soon, Unit 01 grabbed one of the ribs covering Sachiel's core and broke it off. Sachiel squealed in surprise at the action, before Unit 01 brought the sharp end of the rib bone down upon Sachiel's core over and over again.

Unit 01 stabbed at Sachiel's core repeatedly, watching with satisfaction as cracks began to appear on the red orb. Sachiel's eyes widened as he realized he was about to die. With a loud screech, Sachiel made one last ditch effort to eliminate his opponent, stretching his body around her like a wrapping sheet and holding on as he let out a tremendous burst of energy, detonating in a shower of blood and body parts as he combusted himself.

After the smoke had cleared, Unit 01 stood up and looked around at the blood-soaked buildings and streets. There was nothing left of Sachiel, except for his blood. Smiling in approval at her handiwork, Evangelion Unit 01 looked up to the sky and let out a victorious roar, before slowly making her way back to the deployment box, where she stepped back into place and shut herself down.

* * *

**Back In NERV HQ...**

On the bridge of NERV HQ, Misato opened and closed her mouth in an effort to speak, but no sound came forth. Sitting in front of her, Lieutenant Makoto Hyuuga, a man in her age group with black hair and glasses, gulped as he typed in a series of commands for the deployment box to activate its restraints and keep the Eva locked in place. Sitting back at his desk, with his hands postured in front of him, Commander Gendo Ikari smirked.

"So, our first fight against the Angels has yielded victory," Fuyutsuki said. Gendo nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes, but had we been able to use Rei, it would have been over much sooner," Gendo replied, his smirk fading.

"The Committee made the request," Fuyutsuki said quietly.

"Indeed, but it was a foolish one," Gendo replied.

"True. Very true," Fuyutsuki said in agreement, nodding his head.

"Still... both pilots are alive. When Rei has been healed, we'll schedule another activation test with Unit Zero, but only  _after_  Pilot Ikari has been given a modicum of proper training for Unit One. I'd prefer to avoid having a repeat of tonight," Gendo said quietly.

Fuyutsuki nodded his head in agreement, while down below, Ritsuko listened in on the two men before switching her attention to a panicking Misato as she tried to contact an unresponsive Shinji in Unit 01's entry plug. Although Ritsuko knew exactly why Unit 01 had gone berserk, she also knew that most of the people in the command center were not allowed to hear the truth. Thus, she kept these secrets to herself, and pretended to be as baffled as everyone else.

Watching Ritsuko play along as she was supposed to, Gendo smirked. Everything was going according to the scenario. Well,  _almost_  everything...

* * *

 **ENDING THEME: Everything You've Ever Dreamed**  (Performed by ARIANNE).

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Shinji recovers from his battle against Sachiel before meeting Rei properly, while Misato takes Shinji in to live with her in her apartment. Shinji then discovers the true horror of living with Misato: The only food in her home... is  _instant food_. There's also a penguin living there too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: And that was the first episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED. As you can tell, it isn't too far removed from what was seen in NGE and Rebuild 1.0, but there are substantial differences. Rei is still the same as her TV and movie counterparts at this point in terms of behavior, while Shinji is... less annoying. I don't want to make him super competent like some re-write stories do, but I don't want to leave him the mess that he was in the original series.
> 
> As for Misato, I've decided that she should be knowledgeable like her Rebuild counterpart, but only in certain areas. Since Ritsuko is in charge of the research and development of the Evangelions, and most of the research done at NERV HQ, she knows far more than Misato does. She also knows far more about certain things than Gendo does as well, such as the locations of and passwords to certain storage rooms holding very expensive brands of wine hidden deep inside of NERV HQ. Also, Misato still sucks at cooking in this story, as you will see in the next episode, but Ritsuko will be revealed to be no better... for different reasons in the fourth episode, but that's quite a way down the road.
> 
> Shinji will still be better at cooking than Misato, but otherwise his cooking skills will be average. He'll only seem to be a great chef in comparison to Misato.
> 
> One important note. In this version of the story, Rei is still a clone, but... with a twist. Yes, she is made with DNA from Lilith, but the human donor is... someone that allows Shinji to get together with Rei without any incest happening, because it is a turn off to me. So... take bets on who this mysterious donor will be, although I will drop small clues here and there throughout various episodes leading up to the reveal near the final handful of episodes. On another note, while Rei will develop her ability to express emotions as seen in umpteen other stories out there, it will progress rather slowly in this story, as this story will take place over the course of two years. On one more note for Rei, she still looks the same as she does in NGE and Rebuild, despite having a different human DNA donor, because in this story's continuity, Lilith's DNA ensures that Rei looks the way she does regardless of whether the human DNA came from Yui, or Misato, or Asuka, or Ritsuko, or Mari, or Maya, or whoever. So, don't think of Rei looking like Yui Ikari. Think of Rei as looking like a woman who happens to resemble Lilith's human form, albeit with a few physical and behavioral traits that are specific to her human DNA donor.
> 
> Now, while I have indeed changed Rei's human DNA donor from Yui Ikari to someone else, the character of Gendo is unaware of this, and he believes that Rei is a clone of Yui and Lilith. Therefore, he still treats Rei very much the same way that he does in both NGE and Rebuild. Rei's superficial resemblance to Yui is all that Gendo needs for himself to believe that she was cloned with her DNA.
> 
> As for Shinji retaining the memory of his mother's death? Well, I thought that would be an interesting take on the character and would give him a far more believable reason to refuse to pilot the Eva. Granted, he doesn't remember right away, and only after he finally sees the Eva do his memories come back. Still, it's a far better reason to refuse than simply not having seen the damn thing before, as he complained in NGE and Rebuild... or did he only say that in Rebuild?
> 
> Also, something that's been bugging me is whether or not only humans were affected during Instrumentality in EoE. Did Pen-Pen and other non-human animals turn into tang? Did only humans get affected? If anyone knows the answer, please tell me.
> 
> Anyway, please be sure to let me know what you think of the story so far in your reviews. Oh, and don't forget to guess who Rei's new human DNA donor is for this story. There are only six characters who I will tell you are clearly not her DNA donors; Gendo Ikari (Because that would be just... wrong, on so many levels), Kozo Fuyutsuki, Keel Lorenz , Ryouji Kaji (Despite that premise being a twist of delightfully twisted Shayamalan proportions, I'm afraid the answer is no. Not for this story), Yui Ikari (Because I want to make this point absolutely clear), and obviously Pen-Pen (who is a friggin' penguin). Aside from these six excluded characters, I won't blatantly tell anyone who the real donor of Rei's human DNA is until the reveal, but as the story progresses, various clues will be left here and there for readers to pick up on.


	2. Welcome to NERV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up from his battle against the Angel, Shinji is given a proper introduction to NERV and the role he will be playing within it while living in Tokyo-3.

 

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

As with all stories I write, I listen to music to help me get into the swing of things. For this episode, I listened to music from  _Neon Genesis Evangelion Original Soundtrack_  Volumes 1 -3 by Shiro Sagisu,  _Shiro SAGISU Music From Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone_  (2007) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket_  (1989),  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  by Shiro Sagisu and Masamichi Amano and Yoichi Murata,  _Evangelion S2 Works_  by Shiro Sagisu,  _Macross II: Lovers Again_  (1992) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Symphony_  by Shiro Sagisu, and  _After War Gundam X_  (1996) by Yasuo Higuchi.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  ** _not_**  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0_  (2007):  _Rei-Opus V_ ,  _Cruel Dilemme_.

Music From  _Gundam 0080 - War In The Pocket_  (1989):  _Blue Moon._

Music From  _Macross II - Lovers Again_  (1992):  _The Distant Macross_  (This track was later rearranged and renamed by Sagisu as  _When I Find Peace Of Mind_  for Evangelion),  _The Ship Of The Alus_ ,  _Ishtar_ ,  _Crisis_.

Music From  _Evangelion Symphony_ :  _Ritsuko_ ,  _Rei I_.

Music From  _Neon Genesis Evangelion Original Soundtrack_ (1995 - 1997) :  _Misato_ ,  _Tokyo-3_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_ (2009) :  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

Music From  _After War Gundam X_  (1996):  _Human Touch_  (Performed by the late Warren Wiebe).

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Rei-Opus V_  (Shinji in Hospital),  **02**.  _Crisis_  (For when Shinji cleans dishes),  **03**.  _Cruel Dilemme_  (Shinji at NERV HQ),  **04**.  _The Distant Macross_ ,  **05**.  _Ritsuko_  (Shinji and Misato at the mall),  **06**.  _Misato_  (Fancy dinner),  **07**.  _Blue Moon_  (Rei in hospital).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**08**.  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 02: Welcome To NERV**

* * *

**NERV Medical Ward, Wednesday, June 11, 2042**

Slowly, Shinji Ikari opened his eyes as he began to wake up. Blinking away the cobwebs of sleep, he looked around at his surroundings, seeing a sterile white room. Looking up he saw an unfamiliar ceiling. "W-What? Where... am I?" he asked quietly as he tried to sit up.

"Oh, good. You're awake," came the voice of Ritsuko Akagi.

"D-Doctor... Akagi?" Shinji asked as he rubbed the back of his head and looked in her direction.

"There's no one else here with that name," Ritsuko replied as she held up a clipboard.

"What... what happened? Where am I?" Shinji asked her. Ritsuko pursed her lips.

"You don't remember?" she asked him.

"I...I remember... getting into the Eva, and then that... Angel. I don't remember anything after it hit me in the head," Shinji replied groggily.

"Well, that's because you were unconscious during the remainder of the battle," Ritsuko explained to him.

"Wait, what? But then... was the Angel defeated?" Shinji asked her nervously.

"Yes," she replied simply.

"How?" he asked her eagerly.

"Unit 01 entered a temporary state of self-action. It destroyed the Angel on its own," Ritsuko replied. Shinji blinked at her in confusion.

"It did what?" he asked her.

"It went berserk," Ritsuko said bluntly.

"Um... okay," Shinji said, still confused. For a few moments, the room was mostly silent as Ritsuko jotted down some notes on her clipboard, before she walked over to Shinji and placed her stethoscope on his chest.

"Hm... heartbeat seems normal," Ritsuko said before checking Shinji's pulse. "Well, given that you've been sleeping for a while, your body seems appropriately calm and in normal condition. You'll be free to go in a few hours," Ritsuko said.

"Mm-hm. Uh, hey, Doctor Akagi?" Shinji asked.

"Hm?" Ritsuko responded.

"I... have a question," Shinji said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Shoot," Ritsuko replied.

"About yesterday... what happened to that girl? I mean, how did she get so... messed up?" Shinji finally asked, the blue-haired girl having occupied his thoughts for the last couple of minutes.

"Oh, Rei? She was injured during an activation test of Unit Zero," Ritsuko replied nonchalantly, as though it were a normal occurrence.

"Unit... Zero?" Shinji asked her.

"That's correct. There are multiple Evangelion units in existence, Shinji. Unit Zero is our prototype, while Unit One is a test type," Ritsuko explained to him.

"I see," Shinji said with a subtle nod of his head.

"But... how did she end up so badly injured? I mean, when I felt what happened to the Eva, I didn't get bruised or beaten like that. So, how did  _she_  get so messed up?" Shinji asked, remembering what Lieutenant Ibuki had told him about the neural feedback between the Eva and its pilot.

"Well, when Unit Zero was malfunctioning, it ejected its entry plug by force. The room we had the Eva in was quite small, so the plug ended up flying around the room and slamming into every corner and part of the wall imaginable. The inertia and momentum of the plug's wild movements were what caused Rei to suffer her injuries," Ritsuko explained.

"When the Eva finally shut down and we were able to retrieve her, she had suffered quite a bit," Ritsuko explained. She decided against telling Shinji about how his father had been the one to pull Rei from the damaged entry plug, having seen with her own eyes how hostile the two Ikari males were towards one another the previous day.

"Oh. Wait... when it malfunctioned, did it... go crazy like you said Unit One did?" Shinji asked her.

"In a manner of speaking," Ritsuko replied carefully. "We've never had that problem with Unit One before last night, however, so that's why she was going to be the original pilot if Misato had failed to bring you here in time. Unfortunately, Unit Zero's activation test went sour, as I just explained, and that's why we desperately needed you to pilot Unit One," Ritsuko said.

"I see," Shinji said in contemplation.

"Well, I'll be off then. Misato will be here soon to pick you up and take you to your assigned residence after you're discharged," Ritsuko said as she walked away and left the room. When she was gone, Shinji was left alone in his hospital bed, quietly thinking about everything that had transpired in the past 24 hours.

* * *

**Some Time Later, Somewhere In NERV HQ...**

"What do you mean he's supposed to live  _alone!?_ " Misato shrieked into the phone. " _Those were the Commander's orders. The residence is just outside of Tokyo-3, out of the way of any Angel attacks and-_ " "Bullshit!" Misato interrupted Ritsuko. "I don't care what the Commander ordered, I'm not letting the kid fend for himself like that! He'll stay with me at my place," Misato said firmly.

" _Fine, I'll inform the Commander. But, are you sure about this, Misato?_ " Ritsuko asked over the phone. "Of course. And don't worry, I won't try to put the  _moves_  on him," Misato said cheekily, causing Shinji to raise an eyebrow at her statement. " _What!? I should certainly hope not! He's only half your age!_ " Ritsuko shouted incredulously over the phone.

"Oh yeah, she never did have a sense of humor," Misato said as she held the phone away from her ear, rolling her eyes at Ritsuko's reaction. "Well, it's been fun, Rits! Bye!" Misato said before hanging the phone back up on its wall mount. Misato then turned around to look at Shinji. "So, ready to go?" she asked him.

"Sure," Shinji replied apathetically.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Misato asked him with concern in her voice.

"Oh, nothing. It's just... I wish I could be surprised that my father would keep me as far away as possible, even when he needs me to be here," Shinji said with a mirthless chuckle. Misato furrowed her brows at Shinji's words.

"Well, don't you worry. You'll be living with  _me_  from now on," she said with a smirk.

"Thanks... I guess," Shinji said as his shoulders sagged.

"Hey, don't feel so bummed!" Misato said sharply. "Am I really that horrible to be around?" she asked him playfully.

"No. It's just... you don't have to do this for me," Shinji replied.

"Yes I do. I am  _not_  letting you stay somewhere out here by yourself. After everything you went through yesterday... you don't deserve to be left alone again like that," Misato said in a firm yet gentle tone. A small, almost imperceptible smile graced Shinji's lips as Misato's words entered his ears.

"Alright... you win," Shinji said with a sigh and a small, subtle smile as he looked her in the eyes.

"Of course I do. That's the first rule when you live with a woman, Shinji. The woman  _always_  wins an argument," Misato said cheerily. Shinji's smile faltered slightly.  _Wait... I'm pretty sure my uncle said that rule only applies to married couples_ , Shinji thought to himself.

"If you say so," Shinji finally said with a shrug of his shoulders.

* * *

**~~Chamber Of Doom~~  Gendo Ikari's Office...**

"I did not expect the Third Child to remember what had happened all those years ago," Gendo said as he reclined in his chair. Standing next to him was Vice Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki, while sitting in a chair in front of his desk was Ritsuko Akagi. "How will this affect his ability to pilot in the future?" Gendo asked Ritsuko.

"I don't know for sure, but since we were able to convince him to pilot last night, we  _should_  be able to do so again as more Angels start appearing. Since Rei's injuries will still take some time to heal, it's possible that the next Angel may appear before she is able to pilot again," Ritsuko said.

"Which would necessitate the Third Child taking her place once more," Gendo surmised.

"That is correct," Ritsuko said, nodding her head in agreement. As Gendo ceased leaning back and resumed his normal pose, he stared Ritsuko in the eyes.

"What is the current status of Unit Zero?" Gendo asked her.

"We're still conducting a full analysis of the Eva's systems to determine the cause of yesterday's malfunction. It will take some time, but we should have a detailed report ready by tomorrow afternoon," Ritsuko replied.

"Very well," Gendo said in response as he subtly nodded his head.

"Please, keep me up to date on both Unit Zero and Rei's progress. I also wish to speak with Captain Katsuragi tomorrow afternoon. I wish to know why she was so ill-prepared when leaving to pick up the Third Child yesterday," Gendo said firmly.

"Will that be all?" Ritsuko asked Gendo.

"Yes... for now. You may return to your duties," Gendo said in response, prompting Ritsuko to nod her head and stand up before walking away and leaving the dark and poorly lit room.

* * *

**Misato's Apartment, Some Hours Later...**

"Well... home, sweet home," Shinji said unenthusiastically as he stepped inside Misato's apartment and took off his shoes.

"Yep!" Misato chirped in agreement. "Oh, Shinji, I'm going to call your uncle so that you can have all of your stuff sent here to my place," Misato said.

"Sure. Do you have his number, or do you need me to give it to you?" he asked her in response.

"You still have your cell phone right?" Misato asked him.

"Uh... yeah. You gave it back to me after I was signed out from the hospital earlier," Shinji said, remembering how his cell phone had been taken from him just prior to his entering the entry plug of Unit 01 the previous night.

"Okay then, just hand it here and I'll make the call. Does the phone need charging at all?" Misato then asked as an afterthought.

"Uh, no. I made sure to charge it before leaving my uncle's home yesterday morning," Shinji replied.

"Well, you're better at taking care of your phone than I am," Misato said with a nervous chuckle as she led him down the entrance hall and into the kitchen.

"So it would seem," Shinji said in response.

"All right, let me make the call while you go get a bath... or shower. Whichever you prefer," Misato said as Shinji held out his phone.

"Um... I didn't bring any spare clothes with me. What will I wear after I'm done getting cleaned up?" Shinji asked Misato.

"Uh... hm, I guess I'll lend you some of my clothes. I should have a NERV standard garment set in one of my drawers, and those are unisex," Misato said thoughtfully.

"Okay," Shinji said. "Wait, what size?" he asked her.

"Uh... let me go check," Misato said as she walked away, entering the living room before opening a door and disappearing inside.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Shinji asked himself quietly as he looked around the kitchen/dining room. The kitchen was a mess. Empty beer cans and used packages of instant noodles littered the counter and table. There were stains on the floor and counter top from... Shinji had no idea what, and there were dozens of dirty dishes piled up in the kitchen sink.

 _This... is a pigstye! How... how does this woman even LIVE in here? I... MUST... CLEAN IT_ , Shinji thought to himself with a firm resolve. His eyes narrowed as he set his sights on the first target.

Meanwhile, Misato was busy searching her drawers for the set of standard-issue NERV garments given to all employees. "Come on, where is it?" she asked herself as she lifted up shirt after shirt in the second drawer before closing it and opening the bottom drawer. There, in the back left-hand corner next to some jogging pants, was a vacuum-sealed plastic bag holding the NERV uniform set. "Yes!" Misato exclaimed victoriously as she pulled the package out of the drawer and stood up.

Practically prancing out of her room, Misato entered the kitchen with the uniform in her hands, a giddy smile on her face as she prepared to give Shinji the good news. "Shinji, I found the-huh?" Misato asked mid-sentence as she saw Shinji diligently scrubbing the dishes in the sink. Looking around the kitchen, Misato saw that all of her beer cans and noodle packages had been swept off of the table and counter and into a large trash bag in the corner of the room.

"I-I wasn't gone  _that long_... was I?" Misato asked herself as the smell of dish soap wafted through the air. "Um, like I was saying, Shinji, I found the garments!" Shinji did not respond to her statement. "Um... Shinji?" Misato asked as she stepped closer to the boy, looking over his shoulder to see a look of fierce determination on his face as she scrubbed the dishes clean before setting them in a drying rack.

He was wearing a set of green rubber gloves on his hands as he worked, sweat pouring down his face as he washed and scrubbed plate after plate, glass after glass, and bowl after bowl. He was a man on a mission. That mission... was a clean kitchen.

"Wow... we should've just told you to pretend that the Angel was a set of dirty dishes. Then you wouldn't have had any problem with it," Misato joked. Shinji failed to reply. "Uh... Shinji? Are you there? Hello, Earth to Shinji!" Misato called out to the boy before waving her hand in front of his face. Shinji quickly grabbed the hand and began soaking it in the sink before scrubbing it clean, much to Misato's shock.

Misato quickly pulled away form Shinji, holding her wet hand in the air. "Whoa! Shinji, calm down!" Misato exclaimed. Shinji briefly glanced at Misato before returning his attention to the last of the dishes in the sink. When they were all in the drying rack, he knelt down and opened the under-sink cabinet to retrieve some spray bottles of cleaner and some clean wash cloths.

"Here, use this against the filthy counters and table. We must cleanse them of the grime," Shinji said firmly, holding out the cleaning supplies to Misato as though he were a Sergeant handing weapons to his troops.

Misato blinked at Shinji in confusion, before tucking the NERV garment package under one arm and taking the spray bottle and wash cloth from Shinji's hands. "R-Right," Misato said nervously. Seeing Shinji's expression and serious demeanor gave Misato pause.  _He... I guess he really_ _ **is**_ _the Commander's son_ , Misato thought to herself.

"I... where should I get started?" Misato asked the teenager.

"Start with the table. I will take care of the counter," Shinji replied firmly.  _Yep._ _ **DEFINITELY**_ _the Commander's son_ , Misato thought once more, before she went to work spraying at wiping her dirty dining room table.

After ten minutes of elbow grease, Shinji and Misato had managed to wipe away all of the grime, dirt, crumbs, and stains from the kitchen counters and table. Shinji bent down to sniff the table and smiled. "Ah... the sweet lemony fresh scent of victory," Shinji said with a smile in appreciation of his and Misato's hard work.

Standing up straight, he then retrieved the cleaning supplies and placed them back in the undersink cabinet. when he stood back up and faced Misato, he bowed to her. "Thank you for your help, Misato. Now, uh... what were you saying earlier?" he asked her.

"I was saying that I found the NERV uniform for you," Misato said as she held out the plastic package to the boy. "Here. You can go get washed up while I call your uncle and arrange to have your belongings sent here," Misato said as Shinji took the package in both hands.

"Uh... th-thanks," Shinji said with a nod, before he walked past Misato and made his way to the bathroom. Staring after him, Misato let out a sigh.

"Wish I'd known he was a neat freak  _before_  I brought him here. I would've cleaned the place up a little bit," she mumbled to herself. Looking around the kitchen, however, Misato couldn't help but feel a small bit of pride at how well she and Shinji had cleaned it.

"On the bright side... I don't think things will ever stay dirty around here for very long," she said to herself with a smile. She looked down at Shinji's phone and swiped it to unlock the main menu. "Yeah, we're gonna have to replace this with a NERV-issued phone later. Something that won't break under pressure... and has a tracking device in it," she said to herself as she scrolled through the phone's menu to find the contact list. "Oh, I should probably call Hyuga later to thank him," Misato said to herself, as she often had Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga take care of her laundry for her, since the man had a definite attraction to her, although she was unsure of how deep it was.

A few minutes later, in the washroom, Shinji had undressed and was holding a towel in one hand while keeping the NERV garment package under his other arm. As he reached forward to open the door, he paused. For a split second, he thought that he'd heard something moving around nearby. Glancing around the washroom, Shinji saw no signs of Misato or anyone else.  _I must be hearing things. Must've come from someone in the next apartment over... or under_ , Shinji thought to himself with a shrug as he slid open the bathroom door, forgetting what Misato had said about the only other tenants living on the opposite side of the building on the second floor.

A moment later, Shinji was running out into the kitchen in a panic. "M-Misato! There's a-a-a th-thing in the bathroom!" Shinji cried out. A few seconds later, said thing waddled out past the boy and into the kitchen.

"Oh, him? That's Pen-Pen," Misato said with a smile. Shinji looked down at the penguin, noticing the strange backpack attached to his back.

"Uh..." "He's an experimental warm-water penguin," Misato explained as Pen-Pen opened the door to the fridge and pulled out a can of beer.

"He... he drinks beer?" Shinji asked in astonishment.

"Yep. He's actually quite intelligent," Misato said as the penguin turned to look at Shinji while taking a sip of his beer. "He can even read and write! Well, he can type things by pecking at a keyboard with his beak and wings, but it's close enough. Still pretty cool, right?" Misato asked Shinji, who absentmindedly nodded his head as his eyes followed the path of the flightless bird.

Pen-Pen walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a wash cloth before walking over to Shinji and handing it to him with a short "wark". Shinji raised an eyebrow at the bird before he looked down at where the penguin was holding the cloth. " _D'oh!_ " Shinji exclaimed as he covered himself, taking the wash cloth and holding it in front of his privates, his face flushed red with embarrassment as he quickly darted back to the bathroom and out of sight.

Pen-Pen exchanged a glance with Misato, who startled snickering. Said snickering soon transformed into full-blown laughter as Misato held her gut. When she finally calmed down, Misato wiped a hand over her forehead and grabbed a can of beer from the table. "Well, at least things won't get  _boring_  around here," she said with a snicker.

* * *

**NERV HQ, Thursday, June 12, 2042**

Stepping into the elevator with Misato, Shinji brought a hand up to his face. "How many guards are going to ask for my ID?" Shinji asked as he leaned back against the elevator wall.

"All of them," Misato said with a snicker.

"Yeah, laugh it up. You're not the one getting stopped every ten feet," Shinji retorted. Misato merely rolled her eyes with a smirk in response.

The noise of the facility's hustle and bustle could be heard in the hall as Misato pressed the button to select their destination. "Huh. The place wasn't nearly this busy yesterday," Shinji said as he remembered most of the hallways and lobbies being empty when he had arrived the previous day.

"That's because almost everyone was on alert status and had an assigned post during the Angel attack," Misato explained.

"Ah," Shinji said in understanding. Multiple NERV employees made their way from one location to the next, while the various announcements were being made over the intercom.

" _Attention, will Doctor Akagi please report to Testing Lab number Zero-Zero-Seven? Attention, will Doctor Akagi please report to Testing Lab number Zero-Zero-Seven? Thank you._ "

Just as the elevator doors prepared to slide together, the duo heard hurried footsteps and panting, before a uniformed arm and hand held the doors apart. "Wait for me," a bespectacled man said as he stepped inside the elevator.

"Oh, hey there, Hyuga," Misato said with a warm smile.

"Hey, Captain. Which floor are you guys heading to?" Hyuga asked Misato.

"Level B-Nine. We need to get measurements for Shinji's plug suit," Misato replied.

"Oh. Say... why's he wearing a standard uniform? I thought the pilots weren't required to wear those?" Hyuga asked as he noticed what Shinji was wearing.

"Uh... I only had my one set of clothes yesterday. I didn't think to bring anything else with me," Shinji explained.

"Oh, so your clothes are still in the wash?" Hyuga asked him in return.

"Yep," Shinji replied, nodding his head.

"So, Lieutenant, which floor are you going to?" Misato asked Hyuga.

"Oh, Level B-Twenty. I'm late for a meeting that most of the bridge crew are supposed to attend," Hyuga said with a nervous sigh.

"Yikes. Well, we can stop for you first, since we don't exactly have a set time for our appointment," Misato said as she pressed the button on the elevator keypad to change the immediate destination.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Hyuga said.

"No, it's all right," Misato said. "Besides, I'm your commanding officer. I have to make sure that my subordinates get to their meetings on time," Misato said with a pointed look on her face.

"Uh... of course, Captain," Hyuga said in defeat.

A few minutes later, the elevator doors opened and Hyuga stepped out. "Thanks, Captain," he said with a nervous smile as the doors closed behind him and Misato and Shinji were once again on their original course.

"So... he seemed kind of jittery around you," Shinji said.

"Would you feel calm and collected if you had just told your superior officer that you were late to a mandatory meeting?" Misato asked Shinji in response, glancing at him out of the corner of her peripheral vision.

"Probably not," Shinji replied. The rest of the elevator ride was quiet, until they arrived at their destination and the doors slid open with a ding.

Stepping out onto the floor, Shinji allowed Misato to lead him to their destination. Passing by a direction sign, Shinji saw just how many facilities were located on one level. "Huh. I knew this place was big, but I... how does anyone avoid getting lost in here?" Shinji asked Misato.

"Blind luck," she replied sincerely.

After reaching the locker room, Misato opened the door and Shinji followed her inside, where Lieutenant Maya Ibuki was standing by with several measuring tools and a scale. "Maya? Aren't you supposed to be at a meeting right now for the bridge personnel?" Misato asked the mousy lieutenant.

"Oh, that meeting was cancelled," Maya replied.

"It was? I guess Hyuga didn't get the memo," Misato said.

"Hello Shinji, I'm Lieutenant Ibuki. I walked you through Unit One's launch procedure last night. It's nice to meet you in person," Maya said as she turned to look at the young man standing next to Misato. "Nice uniform, but... you know that pilots aren't required to wear those, right?" Maya stated.

"I didn't have any spare clothes," Shinji said with a sigh.

"Oh. I guess you'll have to go shopping for some school uniforms later today," Maya said nonchalantly.

"Oh, that reminds me, I have to enroll Shinji before the end of the day," Misato said with a groan.

"The Commander didn't do it already?" Maya asked Misato curiously.

"Not that I'm aware of," Misato replied.

"Hm. He should've known that Shinji would be living here from now on, so why wouldn't he make sure to do that?" Maya asked.

"Because he doesn't care," Shinji said with disdain evident in his voice. Maya's eyes widened at Shinji's remark.

"What? But you're his son,  _and_  and Eva pilot! Why  _wouldn't_  he care about that?" Maya asked him in confusion.

"He's a cold-hearted bastard, that's why," Shinji replied bluntly, keeping his eyes focused on the tile floor of the locker room. An awkward moment of silence followed, until Misato spoke up.

"Well, let's get those measurements done!" she said with forced cheer.

"Okay, now Shinji, we want you to know that your personal space and privacy will be respected and given maximum priority by us. However... to get accurate measurements, we need you to strip down to your underpants," Maya said with a very faint blush on her cheeks. Shinji's eyes widened at the Lieutenant's words.

"Um...  _what?_ " he asked her in bewilderment.

"I said strip down to your underwear, please," Maya said in a gently yet firm manner.

"Is this gonna be one of those turn my head and cough things?" Shinji asked nervously.

"No. Doctor Akagi handles those kind of things. We're just getting your measurements for your plug suit. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which do you prefer?" Maya asked him with a sweet yet threatening smile.

"Um... okay, I'll... I'll strip," Shinji said with a defeated sigh.

Thirty minutes later, Shinji was putting his uniform back on. "Alright, I'll make sure that this gets to the guys in charge," Maya said as she loaded all of the measurement recordings onto a small cart, along with the scale. "See you guys later!" Maya called out cheerfully as she wheeled the cart out of the room.

"You know, standing you and Maya side by side, I almost couldn't tell the difference between the two of you. You're both similar in height and even facial structure... and hair and eye color... hm, and she's only a few years older than you as well," Misato said as she brought her hand up to rub her chin.

"Um... are you trying to imply something?" Shinji asked Misato suspiciously.

"I wonder if you guys are related?" Misato wondered out loud. Shinji and Maya both glanced at each other curiously, before returning their attention to Misato.

"I wouldn't know. I've never met her in person before today," Shinji said.  _Although, I guess she does share a few physical similarities with me, but I'm pretty sure that's just a coincidence_ , Shinji thought to himself.  _Besides, her last name is Ibuki, and I don't think anyone other than my mother probably ever wanted to even **TOUCH**  my father. I wonder what she ever saw in him in the first place?_

"Eh, I'm sure it's just a coincidence," Misato said before she led Shinji out of the locker room and over to a conference room down the hall.

 

"Right this way," Misato said as she held the door open. Shinji nodded his head and walked inside the room, seeing Vice Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki sitting down at a table sorting a stack of papers in his hands.

"Ah, Captain Katsuragi... and Shinji Ikari," Fuyutsuki said with a warm smile. "Glad you could make it. Oh, Captain, before we begin, Commander Ikari would like to speak with you in his office. I'll handle things with Shinji until you return," Fuyutsuki said.

"Oh. Um, affirmative, Vice Commander Fuyutsuki," Misato said with a hint of nervousness in her voice. She then turned around and walked over to the door. "Don't worry, Shinji. I'll be back shortly. Then we can get you some new clothes for the duration of your stay," Misato said before closing the door behind her.

Fuyutsuki then turned his attention to Shinji. "So, Shinji, how's your stay been so far?" Fuyutsuki asked him.

"Uh, well... I almost got killed by a giant monster, then I got taken for a joyride by Misato, and afterward I got beat up by the same giant monster, oh and I've discovered that my father is the same as he's been since my mom died: cold and heartless," Shinji replied.

"Yes, he's... not the easiest person to get along with. Believe me, I know. I used to be one of his professors back in my days at the university, where he met your mother," Fuyutsuki said.

"You knew my mother?" Shinji asked Fuyutsuki.

"Yes. She was one of my brightest students... when she attended my classes. She had a brilliant mind and a very sweet disposition. I found out she was seeing Gendo after he had an altercation with another student. Believe me, I was shocked when I discovered that someone as pleasant and intelligent as Yui Ikari was interested in someone like Gendo Rokubungi. Talk about opposites attracting," Fuyutsuki said.

"Well... I had to be conceived somehow," Shinji said wryly.

"True, but for a time, your father did change into a better person, at least while your mother was still alive. When they got married, I finally saw what  _she_  saw in him. It's unfortunate that his humanity was crushed so easily after her death. I'm not excusing your father's treatment of you, but... he had a far worse upbringing than you know about, so when the first and possibly only person who ever showed him love died... a part of him went along with her," Fuyutsuki said with a hint of mourning in his voice.

"I... I didn't know. After my father left me to live with my uncle... he just stopped being my father. He wouldn't communicate with me at all, and the only time he did was when he called me here the first time... and he treated me like I was just a disposable tool that he wanted to make sure was still working," Shinji said bitterly.

"I'm sorry for what happened at your first reunion, Shinji Ikari. However, your father has... slightly mellowed out in the time since then," Fuyutsuki said.

"Could've fooled me," Shinji said bitterly.

"I said it was a  _slight_  mellowing. Anyway, I take it Captain Katsuragi has been doing her best to accommodate you?" Fuyutsuki then asked the boy.

"Uh, yeah. She's... she's nice. She's been nice to me," Shinji said, somewhat uncomfortable and uncertain about his current situation.

"She didn't tell you about this part of the day's plans, did she?" Fuyutsuki asked Shinji.

"Uh, no. No, she didn't," Shinji said.

"Well, that's quite all right. I'm sure she was hoping to be here with you to explain a few things during the orientation," Fuyutsuki said.

"Orientation?" Shinji asked him.

"Ah, yes. Orientation for you as both an employee of NERV and as a member of the Evangelion Pilot Corps," Fuyutsuki said.

Shinji blinked in confusion at Fuyutsuki's statement. "Um... the what?" he asked the older man.

"The Evangelion Pilot Corps. You are hereby an official member of an 'elite' unit of hand-selected pilots to protect the world from the threat posed by the Angels. I even have an orientation video for you, but... well, it was only made by us because the Japanese government demanded that we do so for... I can't remember the reason. Anyway, here are some forms and documents for you to look over regarding your role, rank, pay-grade, responsibilities, duties, and other things," Fuyutsuki said as he handed half of his paper stack to Shinji.

"Great, I've been inducted into a military that I didn't even know existed. Yippee," Shinji said sarcastically.

"Look, I know that this must be a lot to take in, but... in time, I'm sure that you'll adjust. Anyway, in that stack are some files regarding a few of the other active Eva pilots around the world, although I should warn you that those files are rather lacking in any meaningful details outside of body measurements, age, and their locations," Fuyutsuki said.

"I... I'll be sure to look at them later," Shinji said before he looked at the first paper in his hands, which was an orientation page. "You are... blah blah blah, I've already been told this," Shinji said as he read the paper out loud.

"Take your time," Fuyutsuki said to the boy.

"Hm, it says here that my starting rank is... Cadet," Shinji said. The ranking listed a NATO comparison chart for him.

"Well, you're technically an Airman now. Although, while NERV's ranking is based on Air Force structure, it has a few differences in its naming system," Fuyutsuki said.

"Okay," Shinji said. "Wait, so, since I've technically killed an Angel... has my rank gone up from Cadet?" Shinji then asked the old man, forgetting what he'd just told him less than a minute earlier.

"Technically, yes. Your rank is now Airman, a rank demanded by the staff of the 2nd Branch based in North America. The ranking structure of the Evangelion Pilot Corps is a mix and match of various ranks from different countries' militaries, so... it isn't the same as the ranking structure of the rest of NERV," Fuyutsuki explained, slightly miffed at having to repeat himself.

"Huh. Is that why it has the rank of Corporal?" Shinji asked him.

"Yes, that was a concession made to the 2nd Branch personnel. They demanded that the rank be included since the Pilot Corps is, well, a Corps," Fuyutsuki explained to him.

"Huh. Okay then. This is gonna take a while for me to understand," Shinji said.

"As I said, just take your time," Fuyutsuki said. "By the way... nice uniform," he added with a grin, causing Shinji to frown in annoyance.

"Thank you, sir," Shinji said through gritted teeth, his patience starting to wear thin.

The ranking list shown on the next paper was as follows, from left to right.

Cadet, Airman, Airman First Class, Corporal, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Master Sergeant, Warrant Officer, Lieutenant 2nd Class, Lieutenant 1st Class, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, Brigadier General, and General.

"Hm, neat," Shinji murmured to himself. Looking back over the files of the other Eva pilots, starting with the German Branch, Shinji saw that two girls named Asuka Langley Sohryu and Mari Illustrious Makinami both held the rank of Warrant Officer, while everyone else was ranked below them. Following them was the file for a gray-haired boy around their age named Kaworu Nagisa, who had what appeared to be red eyes, very similar to those of the girl he met the previous day.  _I wonder if they're related?_

Returning his focus to Kaworu's file, Shinji saw that the boy was listed as a backup pilot and held the rank of Airman First Class. The file for the two pilots at the North American 2nd Branch, a girl and boy named Mana Kirishima and Harold Wagner, respectively, listed their ranks as being at Airman First Class for both of them, while the only other pilot, Rei Ayanami, was also listed as holding the rank of Airman First Class. Shinji was the lowest-ranking pilot of the group.

 _Well, I did only just get here, and these other pilots probably have real training_ , Shinji thought to himself, until he looked at their ages.  _Wait a minute... we're ALL in the same age group!? This is real weird. Why are all of the pilots for the Evas teenagers? Something doesn't seem right about this_ , Shinji thought to himself as he read over the skimpy amount of information present on each pilot's file.

Looking at the file for each pilot, Shinji looked at the picture of each person, until he came to Rei's file.  _That's her all right_ , he thought as he saw the picture of the blue-haired girl. Shinji looked back up at Fuyutsuki.

"Um, Vice Commander Fuyutsuki? When I begin training... will I be by myself or will I train alongside Rei? I mean, since she's been a pilot longer than I have, she'd be able to help me out at times, right?" Shinji asked.

"Well, when she's done recovering from Unit Zero's activation test, I'm sure that she'll be available to provide assistance if you need help understanding something," Fuyutsuki said carefully.

"I guess she's still pretty badly hurt, isn't she?" Shinji asked him.

"Yes. While the girl is a remarkably fast healer compared to most people, her injuries were quite severe. She probably won't be released for a couple of weeks at the most," Fuyutsuki said.

"Well, if you see her, can you tell her that I hope she gets better?" Shinji asked. Fuyutsuki nodded his head in response.

"I will certainly do that. Now, please continue familiarizing yourself with the orientation material. There's a lot to cover," Fuyutsuki said.

"Right," Shinji muttered before he resumed reading the papers in front of him.

* * *

**~~Satan's Lair~~  Gendo Ikari's Office...**

Misato sat in front of Gendo's desk, fidgeting every now and then. She had been in his office for over twenty minutes, and he had yet to say anything since she had sat down. The silence between them was growing more uncomfortable with every passing minute, as Gendo simply sat in his chair with his hands folded in front of his face in his usual pose.

With the room being as dark as it was, Misato already felt as though she were in the lair of a beast. The fact that Gendo had yet to make a sound for so long caused her to equate him with a sleeping giant. Several more minutes passed uncomfortably for Misato as the Commander simply watched her squirm in her seat, the only signs of life being his occasional blinking.

Finally, after a loud timer went off, Gendo Ikari cleared his throat. "Captain Misato Katsuragi... I hope now that you understand the importance of being prepared and arriving on time. Had you properly memorized your travel route and made certain that your phone was fully charged, we here at NERV headquarters would not have been left waiting with bated breath for your return," Gendo said with a disappointed tone, his voice filling Misato with dread.

"The discomfort you have experienced these past thirty minutes should hopefully give you some idea as to what your co-workers felt while waiting for you to return with the Third Child, wondering if the Angel would be defeated at all, or if the entire world would end that night," Gendo said, staring into Misato's eyes from behind his glasses. Misato gulped and nodded her head in understanding. "The next time I give you an assignment, please make sure to properly prepare for it, and expect the unexpected. Remember Murphy's Law, Captain. Anything that  _can_  happen,  _will_  happen. You are dismissed," Gendo said.

Misato stared at him in disbelief. "Well? What are you waiting for? I said you're dismissed, or perhaps you'd like to sit here another thirty minutes?" Gendo asked her after she failed to stand up and take her leave. Misato immediately snapped out of her stupor and saluted Gendo out of instinct.

"Understood, sir!" Misato squeaked in fear, her back ramrod straight as she stood up, before she turned around and quickly made her way out of the room.

Watching as Misato hurriedly exited the room, Gendo smirked.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Shopping Mall, Tokyo-3 Shopping District, Later That Day...**

Shinji Ikari looked at himself in the changing room mirror. He was wearing khaki pants and a red polo shirt. "Well... I guess it's okay," Shinji said as he walked out of the changing room.

"Hm... very nice," Misato said as she sat on a bench nearby.

"Uh, thanks," Shinji said, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish grin at the compliment. He wasn't very much accustomed to being complimented, so when it did happen, it often took him by surprise.

"You're welcome. So, with two blue shirts, that red shirt, two white ones, and two yellow ones, I'd say we're good to go," Misato said. She helped Shinji place the folded up clothes in a shopping cart, filled with several new sets of underwear, socks, pants, and the aforementioned shirts. "Okay, we'll get this taken care of, and then we can grab some groceries before heading home," Misato said cheerfully.

Shinji smiled at the woman as he pushed the cart alongside her. Then he remembered hearing Misato mention groceries. He was going to need to teach her that there were more food groups than beer and noodles, he realized as Misato paid for his clothes using her NERV ID card.

"So, where should we get our groceries?" Misato asked Shinji a few minutes later as they made their way to the parking garage of the mall.

"Well, since we just spent a lot of money on my clothes, I guess we should go somewhere that isn't too expensive," Shinji suggested.

"Right, to the convenience store!  _Yeah!_ " Misato said with a fist in the air and a grin on her face.

 _Just look at her. She's so... childlike... and jubilant. It's hard to believe that this woman is the Operations Director for NERV_ , Shinji thought to himself as Misato led the way back to her beloved blue Renault Alpine A310. "Uh, Misato? If we're gonna buy groceries, then we need to buy  _groceries_ , not just beer and instant noodles," Shinji said.

"Well, of  _course_ , silly! We also need pocky!" Misato chirped with a smile. Shinji sighed in response, shaking his head as he continued pushing the cart.

"Misato, have you ever heard of the food pyramid?" Shinji asked her.

"Uh... I think so," she said.

"Well... I think it's time you were reintroduced to it. When we get to the grocery store, or market, let me do the selecting," Shinji said.

"Oooh! Are you planning to cook up something special to celebrate our twenty-four hour anniversary of being apartment buddies?" Misato asked him teasingly.

"Uh... if by  _special_  you mean  _healthy_  or even  _normal_ , then yes," Shinji replied. The previous night he had eaten only instant noodles, and while they certainly tasted good and were easy to make, he'd learned very quickly that Misato had a nasty habit of trying to "improve" the food by adding things that were not meant to be mixed together into the noodles. Things like...  _mayonnaise_  or  _sour cream_ , or sometimes both while sprinkled with cinnamon, Shinji remembered as he suppressed a horrified shudder.

* * *

**A Few Hours Later, At The Katsuragi/Ikari Apartment...**

Shinji Ikari smiled as he looked at the food he had prepared. Sure, he'd made use of ramen noodles for the dinner, but he'd been able to add celery, carrots, chopped scallions, slices of daikon radish, and even strips of chicken breast to the mix. It was a recipe that his aunt had taught him during the time that he'd lived with his uncle's family. Other dishes in the meal included Miso soup, made from instant mix packets, and some curry rice.

It may not have been a gourmet meal, but compared to what Misato usually ate, it was easily the fanciest thing she'd ever had in her home. "Wow! Look at this," Misato said in awe with a giddy smile on her face. Shinji felt his heart warm at the sight of her excitedness.  _I'm beginning to wonder which of us is the grown-up here_ , Shinji asked himself mentally as he handed Misato her chopsticks. Sitting nearby, Pen-Pen had also retrieved a pair of chopsticks.

The trio performed a small prayer, though Pen-Pen only did so as an observance, and then they began eating. The meal was relatively quiet as the trio enjoyed their first true meal together, although Pen-Pen had trouble with the chopsticks, and he eventually gave up on them, deciding instead to use his beak as nature intended. Watching Pen-Pen happily chow down on his food prompted Shinji to smile, while Misato chuckled at the bird. "Is it that good, Pen-Pen?" Misato asked him with a smile.

"Wark! Wark! Wark!" Pen-Pen replied happily while nodding his head up and down, a smile clearly present on his face from the way his eyes were shut and the muscles around his beak were positioned. "I'm glad you like it," Shinji said to the genetically engineered penguin.

Pen-Pen made more happy noises as he chowed down, while Shinji and Misato continued eating their meal quietly. After dinner was over, Misato and Shinji took turns bathing, with Misato cleaning up the kitchen and the dishes while Shinji took his bath. When Shinji had attempted to clean the dishes, Misato had insisted that she be allowed to clean them, as a way of thanking him for putting up with her and helping to clean her kitchen the previous day. Meanwhile, Pen-Pen sat in the living room the whole time while reading a magazine.

Later that night, Shinji was lying on his bed as he stared out the window at the moon. He heard footsteps coming near his open doorway, and he turned to see Misato standing in the entrance to the room. "Shinji... I just want to say thank you. Not just for the meal, but... for the battle against the Third Angel. I... I know you didn't want to pilot the Eva, and I know that a lot of this is probably overwhelming to you. I'm sorry that you have to go through with this, but... you have my gratitude. Thanks to you, there are millions of people living in Tokyo Three who get to see the sun rise and set each morning and night. People get to send their children off to school while they go to work. They get to go home to loving families every evening, all because  _you_  stopped that thing. Even if you were unconscious or don't remember it,  _I_ will," Misato said softly, but loud enough for Shinji to hear her.

"Misato... I'm no hero. I was terrified inside of that thing. I kept thinking that I was going to die. That I was going to end up like my mother. I was  _terrified_ ," Shinji replied uncomfortably as he looked Misato in the eyes. "I'm not brave at all. I only did it because... no one else could. If someone else had been able to do it, I would've gladly let them do it instead," he added with a sigh.

"Shinji, being brave doesn't mean that you aren't afraid," Misato said. Shinji raised an eyebrow at this.

"Being brave doesn't mean that you have no fear. It means being willing to do what's right or what's necessary in  _spite_  of having fear, Shinji. That's bravery, Shinji.  _That_  is courage, and despite what you may think about yourself, you have quite a lot of it," Misato said with a soft smile gracing her lips.

"I... thank you," Shinji said quietly with a smile.

"You're welcome," Misato said with a small chuckle. "Now get to sleep, Shinji. You have quite a busy day tomorrow," Misato said with a smile before closing the screen door behind her.

Settling onto his back, Shinji thought about what Misato said.  _I guess she has a point. Still... even if I don't like doing it, it's not like any of the other pilots are available to help. I'm the only one here who CAN do it, unfortunately. And... I kind of enjoy being praised once in a while. I guess... we'll just have to see what happens_ , Shinji thought to himself as he slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

**NERV Medical Ward...**

Lying in her bed near the window, 15-year old Rei Ayanami looked out at the moon in the sky above. It's light cast an ethereal glow upon her pale skin, lighting up her red eye as it shone in the light. Rei turned her head when she heard footsteps approaching her. She saw Doctor Akagi walking up to her with a data paid. "So... you're up late," Ritsuko said clinically as she approached the blue-haired girl. She allowed her eyes to linger on the bandages covering Rei's injuries, before she focused her attention on Rei's face.

"I am... observing the moon," Rei said softly.

"I see," Ritsuko said curtly. When she had been around Rei's age, and even younger, she had also taken up a habit of staring at the moon. She still did so even now, but not as often as she had in her youth, given her life as a busy scientist trying to protect the world now. The moon had been one of the first sources of wonder and inspiration for her in her childhood.

"It is... intriguing," Rei said with a tiny, almost unnoticeable hint of wonder and curiosity in her voice. Due to Ritsuko having been around the girl since her creation, she was able to pick up on these subtleties, which no one else, save Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki, was able to do.

"Really? And here I thought you didn't find anything worth your interest," Ritsuko said with a small knowing smirk.

"Anything else is unrelated or irrelevant to helping the Commander achieve his scenario," Rei said in monotone, the hint of wonder and curiosity gone from her voice.

"Is that so?" Ritsuko asked her.

"The Commander has told me such," Rei replied softly.  _Y_ _ou have told me this on sporadic occasions as well, Doctor Akagi_ , Rei thought to herself.  _All of you have made my purpose clear to me in the time that I have been alive, so why question such an easily understandable statement?_   _Still... I do wish my purpose was not so limited in scope. There are a few things I wish to experience in this world before fulfilling my purpose, so long as those things do not interfere with the scenario_ , Rei thought ho herself.

"And you treat everything he says as absolute?" Ritsuko asked her playfully. Rei didn't pick up on her tone.

"He has... made it clear that I am expected to do so," Rei said quietly, the very slightest hint of something underlying her tone of voice. Ritsuko, having spent the last decade and a half around the girl, picked up on this.

 _But you're starting to grow up, aren't you? You've seen the outside world, and though you tell yourself to ignore it... you want to see more_ , Ritsuko thought silently as she observed the girl lowering her gaze to her bed sheets.

"Doctor Akagi?" Rei asked quietly, the tiniest hint of nervousness present in her voice.

"Yes?" Ritsuko asked in response, Rei's subtle nervousness immediately catching her attention.

"Because another pilot has been brought here, am I... to be replaced?" Rei asked softly, the tiniest hint of dread evident in her voice to Ritsuko.

"No, Rei. The only way you will be replaced is if you die," Ritsuko said to her in a firm voice. Rei missed the slight hint of discomfort on Ritsuko's face when she mentioned the possibility of her dying.

"Is that so?" Rei asked her.

"Yes," Ritsuko replied with a nod of her head.

"Then... I am still useful?" Rei asked her with a slight hint of hopefulness in her voice.

"Yes," Ritsuko replied clinically. The smallest microscopic hint of a smile appeared on Rei's face. Anyone else would have missed it, but Ritsuko Akagi had spent over a decade in Rei's presence, so she noticed it quite easily. "Rei, I know that there is nothing scheduled for you tomorrow, but you should get some rest anyway," Ritsuko said as she walked over and shut closed the curtains of the window, leaving the room in darkness.

"Get some sleep, Rei. I'll see you in the morning," Ritsuko said with clinical detachment before she turned and walked away.

"Yes, Doctor Akagi," Rei said quietly before resting her head against her pillow. She soon closed her eyes entered into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

**ENDING THEME: Human Touch (Performed by the late Warren Wiebe)**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Shinji meets Rei at school for the first time, along with Kensuke Aida and Toji Suzuhara. And nearly three weeks after defeating Sachiel, the Fourth Angel, Shamshel, arrives in Tokyo-3 for a showdown with Unit 01!

* * *

**SUPER FUN BONUS OMAKE**

After a long hard day of drinking beer and reading magazines, Pen-Pen woke up from his nap to see Misato in the kitchen. Pen-Pen warked at her and waved a flipper, prompting Misato to wave back at him with a cheerful smile. Nodding his head the penguin waddled over to the bathroom. After grabbing a towel, he opened the door, only to see a tall pale creature standing in front of him.

In the kitchen, Misato heard a shrill screech and turned her head to see Pen-Pen waddling out of the bathroom and into kitchen with fear in his eyes. "Wark! Wark, wark, wark!" Pen-Pen cried out in a panic as he pointed a flipper at the bath hall. Soon, the sound of footsteps could be heard behind the bird as the pale creature, now clad in clothing, made his way into the kitchen.

"Oh, Pen-Pen! I'm so sorry! I forgot to tell you about our new apartment buddy!" Misato said, smacking herself in the forehead.

Pen-Pen raised an eyebrow at Misato before glancing up to see the young man looking down at him with a nervous smile. "Pen-Pen, this is Shinji Ikari! He'll be staying with us from now on," Misato explained with a smile before she popped the tab on her beer can and gulped down some of the alcoholic beverage.

Pen-Pen slowly nodded his head in understanding before carefully making his way back toward the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: I know I said in the notes of the last episode that Shinji would meet Rei properly in this episode, but... I changed my mind.
> 
> As some of you may have noticed, I left out Misato showing Shinji Tokyo-3 rising from the ground like in NGE and Rebuild... and countless other rewrites of the story. I didn't want to do that, at least not yet. I also changed several details about Shinji's first night at Misato's apartment. Again, I want to take this story in a direction that, while similar to NGE and Rebuild, is also different enough to be its own thing.
> 
> What I want to do is tell a story that is different from the original, but not unrecognizable. I want to write events that play out in ways that are similar to the original tellings, but different enough to stand out.
> 
> Also, if Pen-Pen, a genetically engineered penguin, can safely drink beer meant for human consumption, then he can eat anything else and even read the printed word.
> 
> Anyway, please be sure to let me know what you think of this chapter and/or the story so far in your reviews. I always appreciate constructive criticism, telling what's good, bad, and in between. Also, I'd like to know what people think of how I've portrayed Misato and Shinji so far, since I haven't actually started diverging any of the other characters behaviors and personalities from their original portrayals just yet, aside from that last section with Ritsuko.
> 
> Anyway, I hope everyone has fun reading this!


	3. Shamshel Attacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Shinji continues his training, he finds himself once more being called into battle as another Angel appears.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

As a pre-story note. For those of you wondering about Shinji's behavior and self-confidence, allow me to explain. See, in this continuity, Shinji was sent to live with his uncle (Yui's brother) and thus grew up with a family that was mostly supportive, thus preventing him from becoming the self-loathing shell of a kid seen in the original series. Now, this doesn't mean that he's without insecurities or self-doubt. He still has those, just not to the same extent as he did in NGE or Rebuild.

As with all stories I write, I listen to music to help get me into the swing of things. This also creates an unofficial soundtrack for every chapter and story. I listened to music from the following soundtracks and albums, including  _Godzilla vs. Biollante_  (1989) by Koichi Sugiyama (yes, that Koichi Sugiyama),  _Neon Genesis Evangelion Original Soundtrack Volumes 1 - 3_  by Shiro Sagisu,  _Shiro SAGISU Music From Evangelion 1:0 You Are (Not) Alone_  (2007),  _Evangelion Symphony_  by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  by Shiro Sagisu and Masamichi Amano and Yoichi Murata,  _Destroy All Monsters_  (1968) by Akira Ifukube, and  _Evangelion S2 Works_  by Shiro Sagisu.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  ** _not_**  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _Godzilla vs. Biollante_  (1989):  _Countdown_.

Music From  _Evangelion 1.0_  (2007):  _Lucifer's Cry_ ,  _Cruel Dilemme_ ,  _Mecanisme de Defense_.

Music From  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _Borderline Case_ ,  _When I Find Peace Of Mind_ ,  _Three of Me and One of Someone Else_.

Music From  _Destroy All Monsters_  (1968):  _Remote Control Destruction_.

Music From  _Evangelion Symphony_ :  _Ritsuko_ ,  _Hedgehog's Dilemma_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_ (2009) :  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

Music From  _Evangelion S2 Works_ (1998) :  _A01- Rei I_.

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Borderline Case_  (Shinji's target training in Unit 01),  **02**.  _Cruel Dilemme_  (Misato's drink with Ritsuko),  **03**.  _When I Find Peace Of Mind_ (Shinji speaking to Rei at lunch),  **04**.  _Three Of Me And One Of Someone Else_  (dinner with Shinji and Misato),  **05**.  _Countdown_  (the battle with Shamshel),  **06**.  _Remote Control Destruction_  (the end of the battle with Shamshel).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**07**.  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 03: Shamshel Attacks**

* * *

**NERV HQ, Monday, June 16, 2042**

"Aim, squeeze the trigger. Aim and squeeze the trigger. Aim and squeeze the trigger," Shinji Ikari repeated to himself as he locked the sights of his simulation pallet rifle onto the computer generated target in front of him. He had been performing this target practice for the past three hours now. He'd been performing this exercise several hours a day for the past four days.

"Aim and squeeze the trigger. Aim and trigger the squeeze. I-I mean... aim and  _squeeze the trigger_. Aim and squeeze the trigger," Shinji continued repeating to himself as he eliminated yet another CGI recreation of Sachiel inside a virtual cityscape on the screen in front of him while sitting in Unit 01's entry plug. Unit 01 was currently hooked up to several computers running virtual simulations of battles against Sachiel for Shinji to train himself.

Ritsuko Akagi looked at the sync wave data on a monitor nearby. "He's doing good. One or two slip-ups in the past hour, but nothing overly concerning," she noted as Lieutenant Maya Ibuki monitored Shinji's vital signs on another monitor nearby. "How are his vitals?" Ritsuko asked Maya.

"So far, so good. I think he's starting to show signs of wear, though. We should probably give him a break by the end of the hour," Maya replied.

Ritsuko looked down at her wrist watch. "I suppose so," she said in agreement. "Maya, I want you to begin loading simulation number F-Eight-Three. That one should prove to be a little more challenging to him. We can't have him grow complacent and be caught off guard on the battle field," Ritsuko said.

"Hai!" Maya chirped as she entered a series of commands into a nearby terminal.

"Tomorrow, after he completes the next set of simulations, we'll start prepping him for eventual team exercises with Ayanami. We won't go through with anything until after next week, however," Ritsuko said as she took a drag from her cigarette.

"Is she all healed up now?" Maya asked Ritsuko.

"She's getting there. She won't be able to actually pilot an Eva for at least another three to four weeks, but she'll be able to move around on her own in a few more days," Ritsuko elaborated.

"Oh, Maya... have we started using the exercises where he has to reload the weapon, or do we have the simulation set for bottomless clip?" Ritsuko asked suddenly.

"Um... I think we're at bottomless clip mode. I'll have it turned off when we do tomorrow's simulations," Maya replied.

"Good. He'll need to be aware that he won't have infinite ammo during a real fight," Ritsuko said.

"When should we switch back to the close-quarters combat simulations? If we don't run him through those enough times, he may forget what to do in the even that his long-range weaponry is unavailable or... unusable," Maya said. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at her protege.

"Good question, Maya. I'll leave the scheduling of that up to you. For now, though, just keep the current simulation running until the end of the hour," Ritsuko said.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Municipal High School, Monday, June 23, 2042**

"Oof!" Shinji cried out as he fell back to the ground.

"Sorry, new kid. It just wouldn't feel right unless I gave ya a proper welcome to Tokyo Three," Toji Suzuhara said. Shinji wiped his arm against his nose as he sat back on the grass of the hill.

"That's a proper welcome? Do I want to know what a proper farewell looks like?" Shinji asked him in frustration.

"Hey, Toji doesn't mean anything by it, at least not personally," a bespectacled boy named Kensuke said as he leaned over and held his hand out. Shinji eagerly grabbed the kid's hand and pulled himself up from the ground.

"Thanks," Shinji said to Kensuke.

"No problem!" Kensuke replied eagerly with a smile. Unlike Toji, who was wearing a black track uniform with twin yellow stripes running down the sides, Kensuke was wearing his standard school uniform, like Shinji was.

"So, what exactly is your problem?" Shinji asked Toji.

"I just had ta get dat outta my system. Sorry new... uh, what was yer name again?" Toji asked Shinji, having forgotten the boy's name after punching him.

"Ikari Shinji," Shinji replied.

"Ikari? That name sounds familiar," Toji said as he scratched the back of his head.

"That's the name of the Commander of NERV," Kensuke said eagerly.

"Kensuke, don't get so hopped up over that," Toji said in an annoyed tone. Kensuke ignored Toji and looked at Shinji with wide eyes.

"Are you related to him?" Kensuke asked Shinji with an eager smile.

"I'm not gonna get punched again if I say 'yes', am I?" Shinji asked as he looked back and forth between Kensuke and Toji.

"No," Toji replied, rolling his eyes.

"I'm... related to him," Shinji admitted.

"Oh, cool! You're related to the guy who's in charge of NERV! Hey, do you know anything about what goes on down there? Have you been inside Geofront yet?" Kensuke asked Shinji relentlessly.

Toji let out an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes at Kensuke. "Hey, Ken? Do ya' ever think about anything other than guns and tanks and shit?" Toji asked his friend.

"What do you mean?" Kensuke asked him.

"Never mind," Toji said with a sigh.

"Look, Shinji, you'll hafta forgive my friend here. He's a military geek. He gets more boners for tanks and jets than he does for women," Toji said.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I have  _quite_  a sizable collection of porn on my computer  _and_  under my bed," Kensuke said. He then looked at Shinji with a wicked smile. "It's all uncensored too," Kensuke added, still grinning.

"Uh... right," Shinji said, masking his interest with indifference. "So... why exactly did you have the need to punch me again?" Shinji asked Toji pointedly.

"Look, it's nothin' personal, Ikari," Toji said while scratching the back of his head.

"If it isn't personal, then why do it?" Shinji asked him again.

Kensuke let out a sigh. "Look, Shinji, Toji's just upset because his sister got hurt during that big fight the other night," Kensuke explained.

"Big fight? Oh, you mean... wait, I thought everyone had been evacuated to the shelters during the fight," Shinji said, confused.

Toji and Kensuke's faces both blanched as they tried to look anywhere  _but_  Shinji's face. "You guys... snuck out to watch, didn't you?" Shinji asked them. Kensuke rubbed the back of his head and let out a nervous chuckle.

"Well, you know..." Kensuke said, trailing off guiltily.

"It was Ken's idea," Toji finally said. Shinji's jaw dropped as he looked back and forth between the two boys.

"Seriously? You punched me in the face because of something  _he_  dragged you into!? Why didn't you punch  _him!?_ " Shinji asked Toji incredulously.

"I... I can't hit a guy with glasses, Ikari," Toji replied lamely.

"Oh, but you  _can_  hit someone you've just met when they haven't done anything to you. Is that right?" Shinji asked him in a disbelieving tone.

"Alright, I'll let you have a free shot as payback, okay?" Toji said as he walked up to Shinji and braced himself. "Go ahead. Anywhere you want," Toji said earnestly. Shinji raised an eyebrow at him before glancing up and down his body to decide where to hit him. Eventually, though, Shinji decided against striking back.

"You know what? I'm gonna save this favor of yours for the future," Shinji said with a smirk, one that was nearly identical to his father's.

Soon, the school bell rang, indicating the end of the lunch period, and the student body began making their way back into the building, with Shinji deciding to join up with Toji and Kensuke, his new and unlikely friends.

Meanwhile, inside an unmarked van, several Section 2 agents watched the scene play out on their screens with interest. "Should we... I dunno, do something?" one of them asked the agent sitting next to him. The second agent looked at his partner and shook his head.

"Nah. Just make sure that it gets reported to Captain Katsuragi and the Commander. We're instructed to only interfere if the pilot's life is in jeopardy. It don't think this little incident would really count," the second agent said to his comrade before taking a bite out of a candy bar. A third agent nodded his head in agreement.

* * *

**RECREATION CENTER 8-04, Level B-08, NERV HQ, Later That Evening**

Sitting on a bar stool, Misato Katsuragi sighed as she stirred her straw in her drink. She heard footsteps approaching but chose to ignore them.

"Figured I'd find you here," Ritsuko said as she sat down next to Misato.

"I didn't think you'd actually have any free time tonight, Rits," Misato said in return.

"Oh, I think I can squeeze a couple of free evenings into my schedule this week. How've you been so far?" Ritsuko asked Misato before she ordered a drink for herself.

"Eh, I don't know... I mean, things have been pretty quiet lately, and it's nice coming home to someone who cares about your existence," Misato said wistfully.

"So, what's the problem?" Ritsuko asked Misato.

"I don't know," Misato replied. "Maybe I'm just tired from everything," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Tired from work already? Come on, Misato, what's really bugging you?" Ritsuko asked her.

"I told you, I don't know. I just... I don't know," Misato said with a sigh.

"Sounds like depression," Ritsuko said with a snort.

"Got anything for that?" Misato asked her.

"Sorry, you need to receive a proper diagnosis before  _I_  can prescribe anything for you," Ritsuko said in response. Misato stuck her tongue out at Ritsuko. "Now  _there's_  the Misato I know," Ritsuko said with a smirk.

"So, come on. Let it out. I  _know you_ , Misato. When you're like this, something's eating away at you," Ritsuko said. Misato let out a sigh.

"Fine, you win," Misato said reluctantly. "It's... earlier today during my free time, I decided to go check out the address where the Commander was going to have Shinji stay before I took him in," Misato said with a frown.

"Uh-huh," Ritsuko said as the bar tender handed her the drink she'd asked for earlier. "Go on," Ritsuko said after taking a sip of her beverage.

"Rits... that place is a dump!" Misato hissed. "I walked around inside of it! It's like... it's a freaking demilitarized zone, Rits! It was like a ghetto or something! I saw people in back alleys making illicit deals and I heard fist fights going on just out of sight. And then the fact that the building was run down and... why would the Commander even  _think_  of sending his own son to live in such conditions?" Misato asked rhetorically.

"When I got inside the apartment itself, though... oh my goodness, Rits, it was horrible. The place stank to high heavens, like something or someone had  _died_  in there. There were stains from... who knows what on the the walls and scuffed floors and... and... what looked like dried blood stains on the floors of the hallways," Misato said uncomfortably.

Ritsuko let out a sigh as Misato continued. "The apartment didn't even have warm water for the shower, and the toilet looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months, or even  _years_ ," Misato said in disgust. "I just... I just... when I finally went to leave, I saw people watching me like I was a piece of meat. Rits... if Shinji had actually spent even a single  _night_  in that place... I think he'd either be in the hospital right now... or  _dead_. I think I only got out of there unscathed because I made sure to have my jacket open enough to show off my sidearm and ID," Misato said before she took a sip of her drink.

"Hm... sounds interesting," Ritsuko said.

Misato nearly spit out her drink. " _That's_  what you say!? I just described the worst kind of environment for a young person to live in, and all you can say is that it sounds  _interesting!?_  Are you  _high_ or something _!?_ " Misato asked Ritsuko in disbelief.

"No. I'm down and sober," Ritsuko replied with a smirk. "I just like provoking you is all," she added after taking another sip of her drink.

Misato held out a fist with only her middle finger raised. "Screw you, ya' fake blonde bitch," Misato said with a grin.

"Sorry, I'm not interested in women," Ritsuko replied.

"At the  _moment_ ," Misato retorted, still grinning, causing Ritsuko to pause when she went to take another sip from her drink.

"Don't think I've forgotten our more experimental days back in college, Rits. Like the time you and I spent a whole week together in the dorm, just after that big exam," Misato said with a leer.

"As a scientist, it is my  _duty_  to experiment and try to understand that which puzzles me," Ritsuko said.

"Yeah? Is that also why you spent two weeks locked in the dorm with Kaji right after I spent  _one_  with him during the second trimester?" Misato teased.

"Um, I thought you were teasing me about my bi-curious phase, Misato? Isn't bringing up my time with Kaji sort of... going against that?" Ritsuko asked her friend.

"Well... I... uh... um... well... You were more of a sex maniac than I was! Ha! Take  _that!_ " Misato responded with a cheeky grin.

"Okay, you win there. Although, you neglected to mention that I also maintained a higher grade-point-average than you, despite my lack of studying in comparison to you," Ritsuko shot back with a grin.

Misato frowned in response. "Go to hell," she retorted.

"Is that  _all_  you can come up with?" Ritsuko asked her friend before shaking her head in disappointment.

"So, anyway, I heard that Shinji got into a scuffle at school today with one of the boys in his class. Apparently, the boy's sister was hurt during the fight between Unit One and Sachiel," Ritsuko said before she took another sip from her drink. Misato raised an eyebrow.

"Really? And how did you know about this?" she asked Ritsuko.

"I have eyes and ears everywhere, Misato. Don't forget, since Shinji is the pilot of Unit One, he's going to be the center of a lot of discussion amongst people until the next pilot shows up," Ritsuko said.

"Yeah. Speaking of pilots, how's Rei doing? Is she ready to leave the infirmary yet?" Misato asked her faux-blonde friend.

"She was discharged this morning," Ritsuko said. "She won't be able to pilot an Eva for a couple more weeks, but she's able to walk again. She's a fast healer, that girl," Ritsuko said, the slow build up of alcohol in her system making her less clinically detached as she spoke about Rei.

"Uh-huh. Hey, Rits, I've got a question for ya," Misato said.

"Shoot," Ritsuko replied, holding her hand in the shape of a finger gun while pointing it at Misato before taking another sip of her drink.

"Is Lieutenant Ibuki related to Shinji?" Misato asked Ritsuko, causing her to raise and eyebrow.

"I've just... well, it's been bugging me ever since we got Shinji's measurements for his plugsuit. She looks so similar to him in facial structure, with the same hair color, and similar height, and she's only a few years older than him too. Did the Commander ever have a fling with someone before marrying Shinji's mother?" Misato asked Ritsuko.

"Not that I'm aware of. Although, I can certainly check Shinji and Maya's genetic codes with the MAGI to see if they share any immediate familial ancestry," Ritsuko said.

"Cool," Misato replied before she took a sip of her drink. "Yeah, speaking of which... can you also check to see if the Commander is actually  _human_ , or if he's a lizard person in a human skin?" Misato asked.

"Oh, he's  _definitely_  human," Ritsuko said after taking another sip of her drink. Misato raised an eyebrow at Ritsuko's words.

"Yeah? How do you know? Have you ever seen him out of that suit of his?" Misato asked her.

"Once... during a medical examination. A couple years ago, he actually got sick and I had to check on him in the infirmary," Ritsuko said as she took another sip from her drink.

"Oh. So... no zipper running down his back or anything?" Misato asked her.

"Nope. Completely human. Hairy too, but that's to be expected from a man in his late forties," Ritsuko said.

"Eww," Misato said in response, her face scrunched up in disgust.

"Oh, by the way, have you figured out what made Unit Zero go haywire the day that Sachiel attacked?" Misato quickly asked her friend, eager to change the topic of discussion. Ritsuko took a long sip from her drink before rubbing her temples.

"Oh, that... that's kind of... sensitive information," Ritsuko said, not wanting to tell Misato just what she had found.

"Ooohh, reeeally? How sensitive are we talkin' here?" Misato asked her with a mischievous grin.

"Sensitive enough that I won't share it while I've got... alcohol in my system," Ritsuko said sharply.

"Please. You can handle more liquor than that, Rits. I remember a certain  _natural brunette_  once chugging an  _entire case_  of Yebisu in under  _thirty minutes_  just to win a bet back in college," Misato retorted with a grin.

"Yeah? Well I seem to remember a certain ravenette being asked to pick up some fried chicken to bring back to the dorm, only to discover that she had eaten  _all_  of the chicken and had drunk  _half_  of the beer by the time she'd returned," Ritsuko retorted.

"Touch'e," Misato replied with a smirk, chuckling at the memory.

"You never could plan things ahead," Ritsuko said as she started taking more sips of her drink.

"Yeah, I guess not. I mean, that's why I've been sitting here longer than you have, but I haven't even consumed a  _fraction_  of the alcohol that you have in that time, Rits," Misato replied with a smirk. "Although... you never did tell me what you were doing during your final two years, Rits. You know, when you just up and disappeared without saying a word?" Misato asked her friend.

"I believe I already told you that I was brought to work at GEHIRN during those final two years," Ritsuko said.

"Bullshit. You were  _already_  working alongside your mother at GEHIRN when you were fifteen, Rits. That's where you got your tuition money from," Misato said.

"Look, I just took on a heavier workload than I could handle in conjunction with my studies. It's not that difficult to understand," Ritsuko replied.

"Sure... I guess you always  _were_  a bit of an over-achiever," Misato said knowingly. She had never bought Ritsuko's explanation. Not back when she'd first told it to her, and not now either. Some things just didn't add up. "Always trying to step out of Mommy's shadow by trying to do more than she did," Misato added pointedly.

"Yes, and  _you_  were always an  _underachiever_ ," Ritsuko snapped angrily. Misato knew that she had struck a nerve. If she could just keep Ritsuko drinking, then she would be more open and willing to answer some of her more prying questions. However, Ritsuko was smarter than that, and she quickly put down the tab for her drink. "Thanks for the drink. If you'll excuse me, I need to get home to my cats," Ritsuko said coldly as she walked away.

Misato snorted in response as she watched the faux-blonde march out of the recreation center and over to an escalator. "Pfft. Cats... yeah,  _right_. I've never seen a single cat hair on you, Rits," Misato said under her breath before she returned her attention to her neglected drink. "At least I  _recognized_  my parental issues when I did," Misato said before she took a sip of her drink... which was just plain water in a small tinted glass.

"Hey, barkeep? Can I get some water that's more watered down? I'm my own designated driver tonight," Misato asked the bartender jokingly.

"Sure. As soon as you actually  _drink_  what you already have," the bartender replied, pointing at Misato's still mostly-full glass.

Looking over her shoulder at a pool table where Makoto Hyuga and Shigeru Aoba were playing, Misato grabbed her water and walked over to grab a pool cue. "Hey, mind if I join in when you're done?" she asked them.

"Sure!" Hyuga replied, while Aoba just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Eh, why not? I'm getting kind of bored being the only  _skilled player_  here," Aoba soon said as he shot a smirk Hyuga's way. Hyuga frowned in response.

"Oh really? Then why have all of our matches so far tonight been ending in  _ties?_ " Hyuga asked him, his frown slowly transforming into a grin.

"Because I'm being  _nice_ ," Aoba retorted with a smirk.

"Sure, pal. Whatever you say," Hyuga responded, shaking his head with a knowing smile of his own.

Misato sighed and shook her head with an amused smile on her face. "Boys," she said with a chuckle.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Municipal High School, Tuesday, June 24, 2042**

Walking into the classroom alongside Kensuke and Toji, having encountered both of them outside of the school, Shinji paused when he saw a mop of blue hair over by one of the windows of the classroom. Sitting down at a desk, with her right arm in a cast and her left arm propping up her chin, staring out the window, was Rei Ayanami. Getting a good look at her in the daylight, and without bandages covering most of her face and limbs, Shinji noticed that her hair was actually a sky-blue color compared to what he had seen back inside NERV HQ.

Meanwhile, being lost in his thoughts, Shinji failed to notice that Kensuke was still talking to him. "Right, Shinji?" Kensuke asked him.

"Uh... what?" Shinji asked as he shifted his focus from Rei to Kensuke. Kensuke looked over where Shinji had been staring.

"Oh, I see you've noticed Miss Ayanami," Kensuke said with a grin.

"She's finally out of the hospital," Shinji said.

"For now, anyway. She's always in the hospital for one reason or another," Kensuke said quietly.  _Always? How often does her Eva malfunction then?_  Shinji remained quiet as he parted ways with Kensuke and made his way over to a seat diagonal from Rei's. The girl continued to stare out the window, almost oblivious to the rest of the world around her.

Soon, a girl with twin pigtails walked up to the front of the room. Shinji had learned yesterday that she was Hikari Horaki, the class representative. It was a title that she'd held since Junior High, mostly because no one else wanted the position, or so Kensuke had explained to him. "Rise. Bow. Sit," she said as the class did exactly that, just before the first bell rang after the teacher entered the room.

As with the previous day, the teacher was an old wind bag who constantly droned on about life before Second Impact. Because of this, Hikari was the person responsible for handing out tests and assigning classwork to her peers. While no one could confirm it, there were rumors that Hikari was also responsible for grading the class's papers and homework assignments as well, given how little their 'real' teacher actually did.

Opening up the small laptop in front of him on his desk, Shinji sent a message to Kensuke. Nearly every student had a laptop on their desk, including Rei. Unlike everyone else's, Rei's laptop was practically unused. Looking back at Rei, who was still staring out the window, Shinji raised an eyebrow.  _Yeah, if the teacher isn't gonna do any teaching, I probably wouldn't pay any attention either_ , Shinji thought to himself before looking back down at his laptop's screen.

[NewBoy01]: Hey, JetNerd. What's up with the teacher? We heard his ramble yesterday.

[JetNerd]: He's always like this. He only does actual teaching when it's time for an exam.

[NewBoy01]: So, who's responsible for handing out tests and stuff the rest of the time?

[JetNerd]: Horaki. She's been doing this since the second week of this school year.

[NewBoy01]: Are you serious?

[JetNerd]: Absolutely.

[NewBoy01]: So, what's up with Ayanami? Is looking out the window all she ever does in class?

[JetNerd]: Pretty much. She seems to get pretty decent grades regardless, though. She probably studies a lot at home or in the hospital. Horaki once mentioned seeing a handful of text books next to Ayanami's hospital bed when she went to visit her a few months back.

[NewBoy01]: Really? Which hospital?

[JetNerd]: The one in NERV HQ. Horaki got to go there with special permission because she had to give Ayanami a test that was due that week. She doesn't talk much about anything else she saw in there, though, despite how much I ask her.

[NewBoy01]: It's a hospital. It can't be much different from any other.

[JetNerd]: It's a NERV HQ medical ward, Shinji. Who knows what kind of cool stuff they've got down there?

[NewBoy01]: Nothing fancy.

[JetNerd]: How would you know?

[NewBoy01]: I've been down there. It looks like any other hospital.

[JetNerd]: Oh yeah, you're related to Commander Ikari. So, are you a nephew or a distant cousin? What's the relation here?

[NewBoy01]: Distant. I don't like talking about it.

[JetNerd]: Holy crap, you're his son! Aren't you!?

[NewBoy01]: Ken, drop it.

[JetNerd]: Oh, come on, Shinji! Do you know how cool it is to be the son of NERV's highest ranking official!?

[NewBoy01]: Cool? Does being abandoned by your father at the age of five after seeing your mother die sound cool? Does being viewed as a tool and nothing else seem cool to you? Does being forced to pilot the same cyborg that your mother died in sound cool to you, Ken? Does it?

Shinji scowled as he sent the message, his anger blinding him to the fact that he had just revealed his status as an Eva pilot to Kensuke. At at his desk, Kensuke's eyes widened as he processed what Shinji had just revealed. "Holy crap," Kensuke whispered, completely ignoring everything else in Shinji's digital text rant.

[JetNerd]: You mean you're an Eva pilot!? That is SO COOL!

[NewBoy01]: You didn't pay attention to anything else I typed, did you? I'll talk to you in person later on, Ken. Bye.

Shinji then turned off the private messenger on the laptop and looked down at the work sheet that had been passed out by Hikari while he was communicating with Kensuke. The school work allowed Shinji to focus on something other than his tumultuous-at-best relationship with his father, and it helped him to cool down.

A couple of hours later, when the lunch bell rang, Shinji watched as Rei made her way out of the class room. Before he could walk over to her, an overly excited Kensuke, followed by a beleaguered Toji, approached him. "Dude, why didn't you tell me that you were an Eva pi-mmff!" Kensuke muttered as Toji slapped his hand in front of Ken's mouth.

"Okay, motor-mouth. Give the guy a moment to breathe, would ya?" Toji asked Kensuke after he had calmed down.

"Sorry," Kensuke said as Toji removed his hand.

"So, you're the pilot of that robot, huh?" Toji asked Shinji.

"I... not by choice," Shinji said quietly, a frown marring his face.

"Not by choice? Were you forced into it against yer will or somethin'?" Toji asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Pretty much," Shinji replied.

Toji nodded his head in understanding. "That sucks," Toji said. "What!? How could that suck!?" Kensuke asked in disbelief. Shinji shook his head in frustration at the boy. "You get to pilot the most awesome piece of hardware ever! The coolest robot in the world! How does that not suck!?" Kensuke asked, unaware of the attention he was drawing to them.

"First of all, it's not a robot. It's a cyborg. It bleeds and has flesh and bones. Secondly... if you watched your mother die inside the cockpit of this thing when you were just a child, would  _you_  ever want to get inside of it?" Shinji asked Kensuke, causing Toji's eyes to widen, while Kensuke actually paused for a moment.

"Hell no, man!" Toji said after a few seconds of contemplation. "If I'd ever seen something like dat, I wouldn't wanna go  _near_  the thing," he added.

"Hm... well..." Kensuke muttered as his military loving mind was forced to confront a view-point that he'd never thought about before. "Oh, man, my head hurts," Kensuke whined.

"That's yer brain tryin' ta' comprehend its own idiocy, Ken-man!" Toji snapped at him. Shinji sighed at Kensuke's predicament, rolling his eyes in exasperation at the otaku.

"Look, I'll catch up with you guys later. Right now, I... there's something I need to go take care of," Shinji said as he darted over to the door of the classroom.

"See what you did?" Toji asked Kensuke in an annoyed tone. "You scared him off, man! Don'tcha ever think before ya speak?" Toji asked Kensuke before smacking him upside the back of his head.

"Suzuhara-san! I did  _not_  just see that!" Hikari said with a stern voice and a scowl on her face.

"Aw hell," Toji muttered as he braced himself for a tongue lashing from the Class Representative as she marched over to him and Kensuke. "This is all yer fault, Ken. It's  _all_  yer fault. All of it," Toji muttered as Hikari opened her mouth to begin the lecture.

Meanwhile, up on the roof, Shinji sat down with his lunch in silence. Glancing over to his right, he soon saw Rei sitting down with her lunch as well. Making his way over to her, Shinji sat down beside her. "Uh, hey... Ayanami," Shinji said nervously.

"Hello, pilot Ikari," Rei replied in monotone. This time, without any bandages covering her face, Shinji was able to see that  _both_  of her eyes were red. He also soon noticed a small mole under the girl's left eye.

"So... you've been let out of the hospital? That's good. That's uh, really good. You were hurt pretty bad the first time I saw you, but you look a lot better now," Shinji said.

Rei merely stared at him before she began eating her lunch. "Um, I was wondering... do you have any tips for me during the simulation battles?" Shinji asked her awkwardly.

"No. I have not been able to partake in any simulation sequences as of late," Rei replied quietly before she took a bite out of her small vegetable salad.

"Oh. It's just... you've been a pilot much longer than I have, so... I figured you would have more experience than me," Shinji said with a shrug before he took a bite out of his rice ball. Rei said nothing in response.

"Um... hey, listen, Ayanami. Have you met any of the other Eva pilots?" Shinji asked her. Rei held a small grape tomato just centimeters away from her mouth.

"No. You are the first of the other pilots with whom I have had any interaction," Rei spoke before eating the grape tomato. While it wasn't apparent to Shinji, any time Rei put something red in her mouth, she kept her eyes closed, while she held them open with everything else.

"So... how long have you been an Eva pilot?" Shinji asked Rei after he swallowed another bite of his rice ball.

"I have been a pilot for as long as I can remember," Rei replied in monotone.

"That... that's gotta be a pretty long time," Shinji said between bites of his rice ball.

"Indeed," was Rei's simple monotone answer.

Rei and Shinji continued eating their lunch in relative silence for the next ten minutes until they were done. "So, uh, Rei... what do you do when you aren't doing sync tests and training exercises with your Eva?" Shinji asked her.

"I synchronize with Unit One or I read my text books," Rei said tersely.

"Oh. Uh, I like to play my cello," Shinji said. "Sometimes, I try to do cello solo versions of songs on my SDAT player," Shinji said, referring to the antique music device that his mother had left behind for him as a birthday gift shortly before her death. "I... uh, I'm not very good at it, though. At least for now," Shinji said sheepishly with a smile as he scratched the back of his head.

Rei merely stared at him blankly, her red eyes piercing through him. "So, um... do you, uh, play any musical instruments?" Shinji hesitantly asked Rei.

"No. I do not," Rei replied softly, her voice reminding Shinji of wind in a tunnel... or something of a similar nature. Her voice was soft, almost akin to a whisper, yet it was louder than a whisper. As with many things that Shinji had encountered since coming to Tokyo-3, this was perplexing to him.

"Oh. Um, what do you do for fun?" Shinji asked her. Rei blinked at him in response. The air between them began to feel awkward. "Well, aside from reading and... syncing with Unit One, what else do you do?" Shinji asked Rei.

"I shower and sleep," Rei said in monotone.

"Right. Well... those are normal things, but what do you do for entertainment?" Shinji asked her. Rei blinked at him in silence once again. Shifting his glance from side to side, Shinji began to feel somewhat uncomfortable. "Well, um... okay then," he said softly to himself.

Soon, the school bell rang, indicating the end of the lunch period. Shinji and Rei both quietly packed up the containers for their lunches and made their way back inside the school. Neither of them spoke to the other during this time, as Shinji found himself wanting to be alone in his thoughts for a while.

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari Apartment, Later That Evening...**

"I'm home!" Misato sang as she stepped inside the doorway and took off her shoes. Sniffing the air, she smelled something wonderful hit her nose. Of course, for Misato Katsuragi, something wonderful was a term that could apply to literally anything that she herself did not play a role in preparing.

"Welcome home!" Shinji called out from the kitchen, just out of sight. Walking into the kitchen, Misato saw Shinji cooking something on the stove.

"Ooh, what's cooking?" she asked him with an eager smile.

"Uh... just something I found in a recipe book," Shinji replied as he stirred the contents of the pot.

"Are those dumplings?" Misato asked him.

"They're supposed to be. They're frozen ones I got at the store last week," Shinji replied. "Still... it beats having to make all of them from scratch this late," he added.

"So, what exactly is tonight's dish called?" Misato asked him.

"Uh... the recipe book called it... chicken dumplings with noodles, but... I think these might be pork," Shinji said.

"Hey, if it works then it works," Misato said.

"I guess so," Shinji said in agreement as he continuously turned over the dumplings in the pot of boiling water. "Hey, Misato? What all do you know about Ayanami Rei?" Shinji asked as he watched the dumplings slowly turn brown.

"Not much. Why?" Misato replied.

"Well... I saw her at school today, and... she seems so distant, like... like a robot, almost," Shinji replied.

"Yeah, she's not exactly normal," Misato said in agreement.

"Well, what  _do_  you know about her?" Shinji asked.

"Um... I know that she's the test pilot for Evangelion Unit One and the  _designated pilot_  for Unit Zero. I've also heard that she's apparently an orphan who was taken in by the Commander some time a decade back," Misato said. She noticed Shinji stiffen when she mentioned his father.

"He... took in an orphan... after  _abandoning_... his own son?" Shinji asked quietly, a mixture of different emotions, most of them negative, filled his heart and mind. Misato couldn't see it, but Shinji's face was marred by a scowl. "And you didn't tell me sooner?" Shinji asked her as he turned down the temperature of the stove.

"It never occurred to me. Sorry," Misato replied apologetically.

Shinji let out a sigh. "It's... it's okay. I won't hold it against you," he said.

"Oh, hey, Shinji? Have you seen Pen-Pen?" Misato asked as she looked around the room for the aquatic fowl.

"Uh... yeah. He's in the wash room... I think," Shinji replied.

After he was finished cooking, dinner was a mostly quiet affair. Misato occasionally praised his cooking to try to cheer him up, and while Shinji appreciated the gesture, he knew deep down... his cooking was average. Misato only thought of his cooking as exceptional because she had apparently subsisted on beer and instant noodles for who knew how long.

Anything truly special or fancy that he made was a result of him following an already established recipe that someone else had created. He didn't mind, though. Cooking wasn't really his passion, as he found that music was what truly stirred his soul, but he also wouldn't dare give Misato the opportunity to cook dinner... or lunch... or breakfast. He had no desire to die while he was still in his youth.

_Although... maybe if I TEACH HER how to cook... yeah, that might work_ , Shinji thought to himself.  _Then I'll get a break from it every now and then_ , he thought further.  _Yeah, I'll teach her how to cook one of these days. Then she'll be able to prepare meals without anyone dying... or at least suffering_ , Shinji thought to himself. With a new goal in mind, he felt his spirits receiving a much needed boost.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Municipal High School, Thursday, June 26, 2042**

Shinji looked up at the clear blue sky above him in silence. He was lying back against the roof top, having just finished eating his lunch, while Toji and Kensuke were both fighting over the last bit of extra food that Shinji had brought for them from home, as a gesture of goodwill towards their new friendship. Listening to a track on his SDAT player, Shinji soon felt a strange vibration in his pants pocket. Using one hand to pause his music player, he used his other hand to fish his new NERV-issued phone out of his pocket.

Flipping the cover open, Shinji saw the text alert, just seconds before he heard the emergency alarms blaring through the city. Looking over his shoulder at Rei, who was also looking at her phone, Shinji heard Kensuke and Toji gasp in alarm. "Not another one!" Toji exclaimed as he shot up from his sitting position. Shinji soon heard footsteps moving toward him, and he saw Rei jogging up to him.

"Pilot Ikari, we must go. Section Two will escort us to headquarters," Rei said simply, her voice still monotone.

"Right. Uh, Toji, Kensuke, you guys need to get to the shelters," Shinji said as he looked at his two friends.

"We know the drill, Shinji," Toji said as he picked up his lunch bag and dragged Kensuke with him to the roof top door. Rei and Shinji quickly followed them down the stairs and into the halls of the building, where the other students were all being herded by their teachers to one of the shelters built in the school's basement.

"This way," Rei said as she guided Shinji to a stairwell nearby. The two teens quickly made their way down the stairs and over to a door leading outside, where a black car and three Section 2 agents were waiting for them. No words were exchanged as the two pilots entered the car before being driven off to the nearest entrance to the Geofront.

* * *

**The Control Room, NERV HQ, A Short Time Later...**

Standing behind the bridge bunnies as they performed their duties, Misato watched as the main view screen showed the image of the Angel. It was a large, long serpentine creature, with a bulbous front head, and a large core situation right in the center under the head. Misato's left eye twitched as she noticed that the Angel had a rather phallic appearance, almost resembling a dildo. Switching to an aerial view, the Angel was mostly dark violet in color, with two false eye spots located on the left and right side of the top of its head.

Sticking out from the left and right side of its neck, just under the head, were two segmented arms folded together. In the space under the core was a large mouth-like opening, filled with several white legs or mandibles that constantly moved about. "Pattern Blue confirmed!" Maya Ibuki called out from her station.

"Target reclassified as the Fourth Angel. Target is currently passing over Odawara, making its way towards Tokyo Three!" Hyuga called out from his station.

"Then we have a little bit of time before it gets here," Misato said.

**Meanwhile, In The Pilot Locker Room...**

Shinji Ikari quickly zipped up his new plug suit before pressing the small button on the cuff link attached to the right arm of the suit. The excess air was quickly forced out as the suit became tighter, conforming itself to his body. "I still have trouble getting used to that," Shinji said to himself as he quickly ran through the locker room and towards the Eva cage.

Moving as fast as he could, Shinji ran up a catwalk and over to the open entry plug of Unit 01 before stepping inside and sealing it behind him. Once he was in the pilot seat, he grabbed the 'control' yokes and allowed the synchronization process to begin as the entry plug was filled with electrolyzed LCL. " _Sync rate holding at sixty-seven percent_ ," came Maya Ibuki's voice over the Eva's com system.

"Evangelion Unit One, ready for launch," Shinji said with a hint of nervousness in his voice before he gulped at the prospect of fighting yet another Angel. As the Eva was propelled upwards through the deployment shaft, Shinji focused on the images being shown to him on the entry plug's screen.  _Looks like... some kind of insect or something_ , Shinji thought to himself as he noticed the way the body was slightly segmented.

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Topside...**

Inside the deployment box, Evangelion Unit 01 came to a halt before the restraining bolts were disengaged. " _Shinji, there's a weapon box nearby. Move to it and grab a pallet rifle_ ," Misato said over the com. "Affirmative," Shinji said with a nod as he moved the Eva forward and over to another tall structure. He could see the Angel approaching in the distance, and he gulped in anticipation.

_Just remember your training_ , Shinji thought to himself. He quickly grabbed a pallet rifle from the weapon box and inserted a magazine before grabbing a spare. "Okay... deploy the Eva's A.T. Field to neutralize the Angel's... and then it should be vulnerable," Shinji said to himself as he saw the Angel moving closer to his position.

Moving towards another building as cover, Shinji aimed the pallet rifle at the Angel, deploying Unit 01's A.T. Field. A brief flicker of orange was seen in the air. " _Target's A.T. Field has been neutralized_ ," Ibuki's voice said over the com. "Right. This should be easy," Shinji said as he slowly stepped out from behind cover, Unit 01 still holding the pallet rifle defensively. Realizing that he couldn't see the core properly, Shinji commanded Unit 01 to kneel for a better angle.

Once the Angel was close enough, it began to shift its body from a horizontal position to vertical one, and its arms spread themselves out to the side. "What the?" Shinji asked, just before two energy whips shot out of the arms and curled themselves in the air. "Oh... this is gonna hurt," Shinji said to himself with a gulp.

He quickly aimed and locked onto the core under the Angel's head, commanding the Eva to fire the pallet rifle. The rifle didn't fire. "What the!? Aw, come on!" Shinji spat as he realized that he had forgotten to switch off the safeties. After performing this task, he quickly reacquired the Angel's core and fired a burst from the rifle. The Angel shifted itself and flew to the side to avoid the large bullets, before sending its whips forward to grab Unit 01's rifle as it fired another burst.

Shinji began backing Unit 01 away as the whips surged forward, wrapping themselves around Unit 01's ankles. A burning sensation could be felt in his own ankles before Unit 01 was yanked forward, falling onto its back and dropping the pallet rifle. "Aack!" Shinji cried out.

Shamshel quickly began dragging Unit 01 over the streets of Tokyo-3, smashing the Eva into buildings before lifting it into the air and slamming it back into the ground. Inside the entry plug, Shinji cried out in fear and pain as the burning sensation in his ankles increased. "Let go of me!" Shinji cried out as he tried to grab the whips with Unit 01's hands. He hissed in pain as he felt the sympathetic pain from Unit 01's hands after making contact with the whips.

Shamshel continued dragging Unit 01 around the streets, lifting it into the air and tossing it around, finally letting go with her whips. Unit 01 sailed through the air and collapsed on a nearby building, crushing it and sinking into the structure, before Shamshel latched a whip around Unit 01's left leg and dragged it back towards her. Shinji tried to grab a foothold by holding onto the corner of a building with Unit 01's right hand. He then quickly reached up with Unit 01's left hand to retrieve the Progressive knife from the left shoulder pylon. Grabbing the knife, Shinji cut down on the energy whip, forcing Shamshel to let go for a few brief seconds.

Quickly pushing Unit 01 off the ground, Shinji had Unit 01 hold the Prog Knife tightly in its fist as he moved it from building to building in a game of cat and mouse, keeping the Eva crouched down low and out of sight. Soon, Unit 01 came across its fallen pallet rifle. Quickly grabbing the rifle, Unit 01 hefted it up and aimed it at Shamshel, firing burst after burst of large rounds at the Angel.

At least three of the bursts managed to hit the Angel in the side, causing bloody holes to appear along the length of the Angel's body. "Yes! It's bleeding! If it bleeds, I can kill it," Shinji said with a smirk. Five seconds later, after firing another volley of bullets at Shamshel, one burst of which managed to hit a spot under the mouth, Shamshel's whips sliced through the air... and the pallet rifle, causing the barrel to fall to the ground in pieces.

"Oh  _shit!_ " Shinji swore with a gulp before he dodged a strike from the whips. He quickly maneuvered Unit 01 to hide behind a tall un-retracted building. "Misato, I lost the rifle! And I can't get close enough with the prog knife because of those whips! What should I do!?" Shinji asked over the com.

" _Just hold on! I'm thinking of a plan_ ," Misato replied over the com, just as an energy whip sliced through the building in front of Unit 01, causing part of it to slide down and fall to the ground below. "Now would be a great time, Misato!" Shinji said nervously as the Angel rose into the air above him. The energy whips lashed out, and Shinji screamed.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Municipal High School Shelter...**

Standing in front of the urinal, Toji let out a sigh of relief. " _Finally_ ," he said to himself as he felt the built up pressure leave him.

Meanwhile, at the urinal next to him, Kensuke was yapping up a storm. "I mean, I've got my camera with me, so..."

"You brought your camera into the bathroom? What is  _wrong_  with you, man?" Toji asked Kensuke in disgust before he pulled up his track pants and walked over to the sink to wash his hands.

Kensuke soon followed him and washed his hands as well. "Look, we could easily slip outside, record the battle, and then slip back inside before anyone even knew we were gone," Kensuke said.

"Yeah, we tried that before, and now Sakura is in the hospital. Do you  _ever_  stop ta'  _think_  about what yer doing?" Toji asked Kensuke.

"Fine, I'll go out by myself," Kensuke said as he dried his hands, picking his camera up from the counter as he made his way to the door. Toji frowned before sighing in frustration.

"Dammit, Ken, I  _swear_  I will not be carrying you back if you get injured. If you get crushed by debris and stuff, I'm gonna leave ya out there this time," Toji growled as he followed his suicidally stupid friend through the halls of the shelter and up towards the exits.

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Topside...**

"Aaaaaaaahhh!" Shinji screamed as Shamshel dragged Unit 01 along the ground, carving a ditch into the hillside as it continued its attack. "Let go of me!" Shinji cried out as he commanded Unit 01 to reach out and grab something, anything at all, that he could use as a purchase to stop being dragged. As Shamshel dragged him along with one whip, she used her free whip to slash at Unit 01's armor, leaving burn marks along the face, chest, and arms of the Eva, soon cutting the power cable connected to the cyborg.

Soon, a timer reading 00:05:59 SECONDS was flashing on the screen inside the entry plug. "Oh no," Shinji muttered in realization.  _I don't even have my prog knife anymore! What the hell am I gonna do!?_

00:05:46 SECONDS.

Unit 01 was soon sent sailing into the air before crashing into a rundown section of the city by the hillside, crushing an apartment complex as the cyborg's body weighed more than the decrepit and dilapidated materials of the structure itself. Soon, Unit 01 found itself being dragged through the air again until Shamshel sent it flying towards a familiar-looking hillside area.

Down on the ground below, Kensuke and Toji both screamed in terror as Unit 01 sailed towards them. "DAMMIT, KENSUKE! Why do I keep  _listening_  to you!?" Toji screamed as he and Kensuke ran back towards the entrance of the sunken school.

"I [pant] don't know! Ask [pant] yourself!" Kensuke cried out in fear as he and Toji noticed the large shadow growing even larger. Looking up over his shoulder, Kensuke screamed bloody murder as he saw the scarred front of Eva Unit 01 come crashing down just meters behind him and Toji, sending tremors through the ground that caused the two young men to fall over.

"That's it! We're dead! Game over, man! Game over!" Toji cried out in fear as he looked up at the Angel approaching their position.

Meanwhile, inside the entry plug, Shinji rubbed his head as he tried to get his bearings. "Oh, where did I... what the!?" Shinji let out as he saw two tiny figures on the ground by his Eva. "T-Toji!? K-Kensuke!? What the hell are they doing out here!?" Shinji asked in disbelief.

"Misato, two people are still outside!" Shinji exclaimed over the com. "W-What should I do?" he asked in a panic. " _Get them inside the entry plug! Activate Emergency Sequence B-Seven-Three-Five!_ " Misato ordered him.

"Right! B-Seven-Three-Five," Shinji said to himself repeatedly as he entered the command into a holographic hard-light console next to him. Suddenly, the entry plug shifted as the vessel emerged half-way from the Eva and the hatch unlocked from the inside. On the outside, an emergency hatch flew open and a rolled up ladder fell down over the side, reaching the ground below.

00:03:47 SECONDS.

" _YOU TWO! GET INSIDE, NOW!_ " Misato's voice rang out over a series of external speakers hidden throughout Unit 01's armor. Toji and Kensuke both nodded their heads as they scrambled for the ladder, with Toji hoisting Kensuke up for him to go first. "I thought you said-" "Shut up and climb, Ken!" Toji snapped at him. As soon as Kensuke had climbed up far enough, Toji began his ascent as well.

" _HURRY!_ " Misato shouted through the speakers. Shamshel was getting closer to their location. Kensuke and Toji climbed faster until they eventually reached the hatch of the entry plug and climbed inside.

00:01:34 SECONDS.

"Wait, there's water in here!? No, my camera!" Kensuke cried out as Toji closed the entry plug hatch and sealed it shut behind them.

"Shut up, Ken! We're in this mess because of you and yer stupid camera!" Toji snapped at Kensuke. There was a sudden jolt as the entry plug descended into the Eva once more.

"Misato, Toji and Kensuke are inside! What are my orders!?" Shinji asked as he saw Shamshel approach his position.

" _There should be a deployment box a few hundred meters away from you. You'll find a power cable inside. Attach it to your Eva and then descend back to HQ. Once your classmates have been safely evacuated from the Eva, we can send you back up to fight the Angel_ ," Misato replied over the com.

00:01:09 SECONDS.

"Okay, here I go!" Shinji said as he forced the Eva to lunge towards a large black box in the distance. Unfortunately, Shamshel was faster, and she lashed out with an energy whip, coiling it around Unit 01's leg and sending it sprawling onto the ground. "Uh no! Misato, I can't make it!" Shinjo cried out as he looked at the timer.

" _Just pull through, Shinji! You can make it! I know you can!_ " Misato yelled over the com in an attempt to encourage Shinji.

00:00:45 SECONDS.

_I won't make in time. I've got no weapons. I'm FUCKED_ , Shinji realized with a ball of dread forming in his stomach.  _I'm gonna die in here! I'm gonna-no, wait! Unit 01 has a horn! It has a horn_ , Shinji realized.

"Misato! I've got another plan! I'm gonna use Unit One's horn to crack the Angel's core!" Shinji explained as he allowed Shamshel to drag the Eva underneath its body, before impaling it in the stomach with the other whip. "Oh shit!" Shinji blurted out in pain. " _Shinji!? Shinji!_ " Misato cried out over the com.

00:00:29 SECONDS.

"You wanna play rough? How's this for ya!?" Shinji yelled as he pushed the Eva off the ground and grabbed the sides of the Angel's body with Unit 01's hands, ramming the horn on the Eva's helmet straight up into the core. The core was tough, and hard, and Shinji had to pull Unit 01's head back before shoving it forward again, allowing Shamshel to strike at Unit 01's head and mouth with her whips repeatedly before the horn struck the covering of the core again, the friction causing sparks to fly as the horn ground itself against the red orb.

00:00:08 SECONDS.

" _ **JUST**_...  _ **FUCKING**_...  _ **DIE!**_ " Shinji screamed before the horn finally broke through and impaled the core of the Angel, causing a fountain of blood to spill out around the Eva's head and onto the ground below.

00:00:00 SECONDS.

The heat from Shamshel's energy whips began to fade following its death, but Shinji could still feel the pain from where the Angel had cut the Eva. Soon, he curled up into a ball on the pilot seat and began to shudder as the tears slipped through. Behind him, Toji and Kensuke watched quietly as their friend cried over how close he had come to dying... and the pain he had suffered from it.

Toji looked at Shinji before glancing at Kensuke and his camera. "You still think it's cool to be a pilot, Ken?" Toji asked his bespectacled friend. Kensuke said nothing in response. He simply lowered his gaze to the floor below.

* * *

**Infirmary B-03, NERV HQ, Hours Later...**

Shinji flexed his hands, feeling the gauze on them do its job. He looked over at Kensuke and Toji, listening as Misato scolded them. "Just what the hell were you two  _thinking!?_ " Misato shrieked at them. "You could've been killed out there! And for what!? For what!? For a thrill!?" She asked them heatedly.

"And let's not even get started on how your need to be rescued forced our pilot to waste precious time he could've used to find another means of defeating the Angel!  _He_  could've been killed out there because you cost him precious time to put distance between himself and the Angel!" Misato yelled as she chewed out Toji and Kensuke. Toji and Kensuke both winced.

"And let's not forget about  _this_ ," Misato said as she held up Kensuke's camera.

"My camera!" Kensuke cried out in horror. "Please, I paid good money for that!" Kensuke cried.

"You almost cost yourselves and  _Shinji_  your  _lives_  because of it," Misato said with a glare.

Toji turned to look at Shinji. "Hey, Shinji? I... I'm sorry," Toji said in a repentant tone, catching Misato off guard. Shinji turned to look at Toji in response. He quietly nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"And what about  _you_ , Mister Aida?" Misato asked Kensuke.

"I... I'm sorry," Kensuke said.

"Don't apologize to  _me_ , Aida-san. Apologize to  _Shinji_ ," Misato said firmly. Kensuke turned and looked at his friend.

"I'm sorry, Shinji. I wasn't thinking when I dragged Toji out there with me. I'm sorry," Kensuke said softly.

"Good. Now... here's your camera," Misato said as she handed the camera back to Kensuke.

"Oh, thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Kensuke said in a worshiping tone, until he opened the camera's card slot. "Hey! My memory card!" Kensuke cried out in a panic.

"Sorry, but this has classified NERV data on it. We'll hand it back to you after it's been wiped. Well,  _Shinji_  will hand it back to you at school some time next week," Misato said with a smirk as she held up said memory card in her hand.

"Now, your parents have been called and will be here shortly to pick you up," Misato said to Kensuke and Toji.

"Oh, yes, you aren't gonna lock us up or have us killed!" Kensuke cried out joyously.

"Don't give me any ideas," Misato said with a nasty glare pointed in Kensuke's direction. Kensuke immediately shut his mouth with a wide-eyed expression on his face.

**NERV HQ Guest Lobby B-05, A Couple Hours Later...**

Sitting down on a cushioned bench while holding a hot/cold pad to his head, Shinji noticed a familiar mop of blue hair approaching him and Misato. Meanwhile, Misato was speaking into a wall-mounted phone. "Yeah, I understand. Well, if it's anything like that he was gonna have Shinji live in, he can kiss my ass," Misato said into the phone. She waited for a moment as Ritsuko said something on the other end, causing her to smile.

"Thanks, Rits. Also... I'm sorry about pushing your buttons the other night. Although, I'm still not convinced that you own any cats," Misato said. She nodded her head and rolled her eyes as Ritsuko said something in response. "Well, when you can give me photographic evidence, I'll believe you. Bye!" Misato said before hanging up the phone.

Turning around, Misato saw that their newest companion had arrived in the lobby, carrying a small suitcase. "Hey, Rei. So, are you ready to go?" Misato asked the blue-haired girl, who simply nodded her head. Shinji tilted his head in confusion, much like a dog.

"Uh, Misato... I don't think you've explained to me what's going on," Shinji said.

"Rei's staying with us," Misato said.

"Oh," Shinji said with a nod of his head. "Wait, why? What happened to where she normally lives?" he asked.

"It was destroyed during your battle with the Angel," Rei said bluntly.

"Oh," Shinji said with wide eyes. "Um... sorry about that," Shinji apologized sheepishly.

"It was not your intention to demolish my residence, so I will not hold any ill-will towards you," Rei said in a monotone voice.

"Uh... thank... you?" Shinji replied cautiously.

"So, Rei, do you have everything you'll need while you stay with us?" Misato asked the bluenette.

"Yes," Rei replied softly.

"Okay then. Let's get going!" Misato said enthusiastically as she led the two teenagers out of the lobby and into a corridor that would take them to the parking lot.

* * *

**ENDING THEME: Everything You've Ever Dreamed (Performed by ARIANNE)**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Rei moves in with Misato and Shinji. In doing so, she discovers the wonders of a warm bath, television, and the dangers of experimental cereal!

**SAMPLE OF NEXT EPISODE**

Rei walked up to Shinji while he brushed his teeth. "Ikari, where do we keep the fire extinguisher?" Rei asked him, causing him to pause and look at her. "Why?" Shinji asked her hesitantly. Rei's response was simple and to the point. "My cereal and milk have spontaneously combusted."

Shinji blinked at her in confusion. Perhaps Shinji did not understand her words? She decided to clarify her statement. "My cereal and milk have caught fire for no apparent reason."

* * *

**SUPER SPECIAL ALTERNATE BONUS SEQUENCE**

**Infirmary B-03, NERV HQ, Hours Later...**

Shinji flexed his hands, feeling the gauze on them do its job. He looked over at Kensuke and Toji, listening as Misato scolded them. "Just what the hell were you two  _thinking!?_ " Misato shrieked at them. "You could've been killed out there! And for what!? For what!? For a thrill!?" She asked them heatedly.

"And let's not even get started on how your need to be rescued forced our pilot to waste precious time he could've used to find another means of defeating the Angel!  _He_  could've been killed out there because you cost him precious time to put distance between himself and the Angel!" Misato yelled as she chewed out Toji and Kensuke. Toji and Kensuke both winced.

"And let's not forget about  _this_ ," Misato said as she held up Kensuke's camera.

"My camera!" Kensuke cried out in horror. "Please, I paid good money for that!" Kensuke cried.

"You almost cost yourselves and  _Shinji_  your  _lives_  because of it," Misato said with a glare. She then crushed the camera in one hand, smirking at Ken while she did so.

"NNNnnoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Kensuke cried out in anguish at the death of his beloved camera. Toji merely rolled his eyes at Kensuke's outburst.

"So, what's gonna happen now?" Toji asked Misato.

"Your parents and other family members will be receiving phone calls from the Commander himself this evening, and he will be giving all of them  _explicit instructions_  to love you less now," Misato said in a serious tone.

"Aww, man!" Kensuke whined.

"Relax, Ken. I don't think anyone in your family has ever loved you to begin with, so no worries," Toji said with a shrug.

"Oh yeah, good point," Kensuke said in response, his mood suddenly brightening.

END OF BONUS SEQUENCE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: And here it is, the third episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED!
> 
> So, now we come to the biggest divergence from the original and Rebuild canon. Shinji doesn't get chewed out for disobeying orders, because his decision in this case was clearly life or death, and Rei moves in with him and Misato because her apartment was destroyed during the battle with Shamshel. I think I captured Kensuke and Toji's personalities pretty accurately. It's been a while since I've watched the original TV series, and so far I've been mostly watching Rebuild 1.11, since that movie's story is mostly identical to the first five episodes of the TV series... mostly.
> 
> Anyway, please be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews!


	4. Cereal Experiments Rei

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rei moves in with Shinji and Misato, where she begins to open her eyes to what the world around her has to offer.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

Disclaimer: No actual bowls of cereal were harmed in the making of this episode.

As always, I listened to music from various soundtracks and albums while writing this to get me into the right mood. Soundtracks I listened to include  _Neon Genesis Evangelion Original Soundtrack_ 1 - 3 (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion S2 Works_  by Shiro Sagisu,  _Kare Kano Original Soundtrack Volume 1_  (1998) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  by Shiro Sagisu and Yoichi Murata and Masamichi Amano. 

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _Misato_ ,  _When I Find Peace Of Mind_ ,  _Three Of Me and One Of Someone Else_ ,  _Good Or Don't Be_ ,  _Ritsuko_ ,  _Rei I_.

Music From  _Kare Kano OST 1_  (1998):  _Yukino Miyazawa III (Jazz Rock)_ ,  _Souichiro Arima II_ ,  _Peace Reigns In The Land_ ,  _Into a Dream_ ,  _Putting The Cart Before The Horse_ ,  _Yukino Miyazawa V (Nocturne)_  (A slightly rearranged version of this track was reused by Sagisu for Evangelion 3.0 and renamed as  _L'Apotre de la Lune - 2 Pianos_ ).

Music From  _Evangelion S2 Works_ :  _A-04 Synth Voice Only - Do You Love Me?_ ,  _A-07 Synth Only_ ,  _D-08 Romance_ ,  _D-08 Romance Piano_ ,  _A-09 Synth Only_ ,  _A-04 Borderline Case_ , .

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_ :  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

01.  _Misato_  (when the trio enter the apartment), 02.  _A-04 Borderline Case_  (Rei meets Pen-Pen), 03.  _Ritsuko_  (during dinner - first night), 04.  _Peace Reigns In The Land_  (at the mall), 05.  _Yukino Miyazawa V (Nocturne)_  (Rei's musings during bath and before bed).

**Music After Ending Theme**

06.  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 04: Cereal Experiments Rei**

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari Apartment, Thursday, June 26, 2042**

Stepping inside the doorway of the apartment, Shinji took off his shoes with one hand while still holding his gel pack to his head with the other one. Misato quickly slipped off her shoes as well and placed them next to the welcoming mat on the floor. Rei, however, was preparing to make her way down the hallway. "Oh, Rei, you can take your shoes off in here," Misato said.

Rei turned around and quietly nodded her head before slipping her shoes off, placing them next to Shinji and Misato's shoes. "Did you normally walk around in your shoes at your old residence?" Misato asked Rei.

"Yes," Rei replied simply.

"Huh. Well, I'd like to keep my floors free of scuff marks and clean, so be sure to take off your shoes when coming back in the apartment from now on," Misato said. Rei nodded her head in understanding.

"Affirmative," Rei said in monotone.

"Uh, I guess I'll go start cooking dinner," Shinji said. "I already had a shower at NERV, so... Misato, you and Rei can decide who showers first," Shinji said, still holding the gel pack to his forehead. He could still feel phantom pain from where Shamshel had hit Unit 01 with its whips, as well as where the Eva had been impaled. His ankles still felt some phantom pain as well, but he forced himself to ignore the sensations as he made his way into the kitchen to start preparing the evening meal.

"Hmm... oh, I forgot to think about which room you'll be sleeping in while you're here," Misato said to Rei, embarrassed.

"Anywhere you designate is acceptable," Rei said.

"Uh... okay then," Misato said, uncertain of how to proceed. She looked at Rei's suitcase. "Well, I think the one storage closet has enough space. We can convert that into a room for you," Misato said as she led Rei through the kitchen and into the living room.

Taking a right turn as soon as they'd entered the living room, Misato led Rei down the hall and opened the storage room's door. Sure enough, there was a enough space for a bed.

"This will do," Rei said in monotone.

"All right then. Rei, why don't you get cleaned up first? I'll go help Shinji in the kitchen, and you can... wait, do you have any spare clothes?" Misato asked the girl, remembering Shinji's predicament when she had taken him in earlier.

"I have two school uniforms in my suitcase," Rei said.

"What about underwear?" Misato asked her.

"I have two sets of underwear and socks to go along with the uniforms, along with three bras," Rei replied simply.

"Uh, okay then. What about sleeping clothes, or pajamas?" Misato asked Rei. A small look of confusion spread across Rei's face.

"I... do not understand," Rei said, a hint of confusion in her voice. Misato inhaled as she processed what this meant.

"Well... you can borrow some clothes of mine until we get you your own sleeping garments, okay?"

"If you insist upon it, I will not resist," Rei said.

"Uh... great! So, as I said, I'll be in the kitchen helping Shinji with dinner. You can get cleaned up in the wash room in the meantime. Don't spend too much time in there, though," Misato said teasingly.

"I will only wash for the amount of time necessary to clean myself," Rei said.

"Gotcha," Misato said before turning around and walking back through the hall, quickly disappearing into the kitchen. Looking around the rather spartan room, Rei set down her suitcase and began to unpack. After making sure to set the next day's uniform in a neat pile near the door, Rei made her way to the wash room, depositing her clothes in the hamper before opening the door to the bathroom.

She paused when she looked down and saw the small black and white featured creature in front of her. Pen-Pen looked back up in confusion as well. Rei continued staring down at him, unmoving. Neither of them moved a muscle as they unknowingly entered into a staring contest.

She looked at him.

And he looked at her.

And she looked at  _him_.

And he looked at  _her_.

And she looked at  _him!_

And he looked at  _her!_

And she looked at  _HIM!_

And he looked at  _HER!_

_And she looked at HIM!_

_And he looked at HER!_

_AND SHE LOOKED AT HIM!_

_AND HE LOOKED AT HER!_

_AND SHE LOOKED AT_ _**HIM!** _

_AND HE LOOKED AT_ _**HER!** _

_**AND SHE LOOKED AT HIM!** _

_**AND HE LOOKED AT HER!** _

"Wark!" Pen-Pen broke the silence with his usual greeting. Rei blinked at the penguin curiously, before crouching down in front of him, noticing the backpack attached to him. "You are... like me. Aren't you?" Rei asked the genetically enhanced penguin.

Pen-Pen tilted his head quizzically before leaning forward to sniff Rei as she reached around to pet him. "We are both... abnormal," Rei said softly as she continued petting the penguin. Pen-Pen produced a series of what resembled purrs or happy trills as Rei continued petting him and scratching the top of his head.

"Neither of us truly... belong. We are...  _different_  from our peers," Ayanami said as she studied the penguin. She looked up at a clock on the wall before looking back at Pen-Pen.

"I shall see you when I have finished cleaning myself," Rei said before she stood up and made her way into the bathroom, quickly grabbing a towel from a nearby shelf and closing the door behind her. Pen-Pen remained silent before waddling out of the room. He quietly made his way out into the living room before peering out into the kitchen, where the smell of dinner being cooked wafted into his nostrils.

"Okay... is this the symbol for a tablespoon, or a teaspoon?" Misato asked Shinji.

"Teaspoon," Shinji said as he glanced at the page of the recipe book in front of Misato.

"Gotcha," Misato said, nodding her head briefly. "Hey, Shinji?" Misato asked.

"Yeah?" Shinji replied.

"Have you seen Pen-Pen anywhere?" Misato asked him.

"Hm... um, no. Have you?" Shinji asked her in return.

"No, that's why I asked you," Misato replied.

A moment of silence passed between the duo as they continued preparing dinner. "Hey, Misato?" Shinji asked.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Did we remember to tell Ayanami about Pen-Pen living here?" Shinji asked his guardian.

"I... um... I don't remember," Misato said thoughtfully.

"Well, I know I didn't tell her," Shinji said as he chopped up a radish. Another moment of silence passed between the duo, with Pen-Pen watching them intently.

"Misato?" Shinji asked nervously.

"Yes?" she replied.

"How long do we have until she runs out here in fright?" Shinji asked, remembering his first night in Misato's apartment.

"Um... well, I haven't heard any screams yet, but... I'll go check on her," Misato said as she turned around, only to pause as she saw Pen-Pen standing in the entry way of the kitchen.

"Oh, Pen-Pen! There you are!" Misato said with a smile. "Hey, Shinji! Pen-Pen's been out here the whole time!" Misato announced.

"Ah," Shinji said in acknowledgement.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Rei sighed as she felt the warm water cascading down her back, a much welcomed change from the cold water of her old living space.  _This is... nice. I... I had almost forgotten what this feels like_ , Rei thought to herself as the warm water danced along her skin. Unconsciously, a smile formed on her lips as she began lathering herself with soap.  _I missed this... so much. I don't think... I do not ever wish go back to where I lived before, even if it becomes repaired_ , Rei thought to herself as she let out a content sigh.

_This is just... it feels so good. I enjoy this. I enjoy it immensely_ , she thought to herself, unknowingly slowing down her cleaning to take her time. For the past several years, the water heater in her apartment had been broken, forcing her to take cold showers every morning and night. As time passed, she grew accustomed to it, to the point that she was no longer bothered by it. But now... she knew that she would never go back to that again, not if she had a choice in the matter.

When she was done, she grabbed her towel and began drying off, before making her way out of the bathroom and wash room . Stepping into the kitchen entryway, Rei announced her presence. "Misato, I am done with my shower. It is now your turn," Rei said, her monotone voice now carrying a slight undercurrent of... satisfaction, or some other emotion that one would be hard pressed to associate with the albino.

"Okay, Rei, just give me a minute to-ack! REI!" Misato exclaimed in surprise after turning around. This prompted Shinji to turn around as well.

"Misato, what's wrong!?" He asked with concern before he finally saw Rei... and just what is was about her that had caused Misato's outburst. Rei was naked. Completely, unabashedly, buck naked. And Shinji now had complete confirmation that blue was her natural hair color as well.

_Oh! She... Ayanami is... I mean, uh... she's not... she-she's... I mean... uh... boooooobs_ , Shinji thought as he took in the sight, a very obvious blush rising to his cheeks. While Rei was not the first naked female Shinji had ever seen (he'd been given several porn mags by one of his cousins while living with his aunt and uncle), Rei was notably the first naked female he had seen  _in person_.

Shinji opened his mouth to speak, but was unable to form words. Misato, however, was not as dumbstruck as the hormonal teenager. "Rei, where are your clothes!?" Misato asked the blue-haired girl.

"In my room," Rei replied.

Misato then noticed Shinji's blush... among other things. "Shinji, turn around and continue making dinner," Misato said firmly. Shinji's mind, however, had become mostly blank as he continued staring at the naked blue-haired girl in front of him. " _Shinji_ ," Misato reiterated, before snapping her fingers in front of him. Shinji was finally snapped out of his nudity-induced hormonal stupor and he quickly turned around to resume preparing dinner.

Sighing, Misato walked over to Rei and guided her into the hallway. "Rei, I understand that you may be... socially awkward. So... I'm going to help you understand a few things," Misato said as she guided Rei through the hallway and over to the bedrooms.

Meanwhile, Shinji had managed to take one last peek after Rei had turned around, before he looked down and groaned in annoyance. "Think of something... not arousing. Think of something... um... horrible, like... like... Dad. Think of... Dad," Shinji said to himself, imagining his father's face in his head.

The tent in his pants immediately collapsed, causing him to sigh in relief at not having to deal with that issue during dinner. "I never thought I'd be thankful to Dad for  _anything_ ," Shinji muttered as he was now able to focus on cooking dinner. "Will wonders never cease?" he asked himself.

Meanwhile, in Rei's bedroom, Misato was helping the blue-haired girl get dressed. "Rei, why didn't you take your clothes with you into the bathroom?" Misato asked.

"I did not plan on wearing them until tomorrow," Rei said simply.

"Rei, you can't just walk around the place naked," Misato said.

"I was... under the impression that nudity was only taboo in public. I did not realize that this extended to private dwellings as well," Rei admitted.

"Did you spend most of your time at home naked?" Misato asked her.

"Yes," Rei replied with a curt nod of her head.

"Rei... [sigh] I guess we'll have to establish some ground rules around here. You weren't exactly raised around people, were you?" Misato asked her. Rei shook her head.

"I have lived alone for many years," Rei elaborated.

"Well, that's changing now, Rei. You're living with us, so prepare to learn about... um, living around other people," Misato said. Rei nodded her head in understanding. Misato then turned to look at the two school uniforms folded up on the floor. "Rei... since we don't want your uniforms to get dirty before you get ready for school tomorrow, I'm gonna go find some other clothes for you to wear the rest of the night," Misato said.

Rei simply nodded her head. "And on Saturday, we'll go shopping for some new clothes for you. Stuff you can wear around the house and in bed so that that you don't have to wear your uniforms when you aren't in school," Misato said. Rei nodded her head.

"That... would be convenient in regards to making the school uniforms last longer," Rei said.

"All right. I'll be back shortly. Just wait here until I return," Misato said as she turned around and exited the room, closing the door behind her. Walking out toward the living room, Misato shook her head. "Hey, Shinji! I'm gonna find some clothes for Rei to wear tonight," Misato called out as she passed the kitchen.

"Doesn't she have any spare clothing?" Shinji asked from his spot by the stove.

"Only two school uniforms. We'll have to take her shopping on Saturday," Misato replied.

"Okay," Shinji said in response.

Resuming her trek to her bedroom, Misato began digging through her drawers for something that would fit Rei. "Hm... this isn't good," Misato said as she came up empty-handed. She then reached for the bottom drawer, only to remember that Shinji now had that NERV uniform set somewhere in his room, hidden where no one would ever find it.  _Wait... Shinji's clothing might fit Rei_ , Misato thought.

_Since Rei's as socially inexperienced as it is, she might not have any problems wearing some of Shinji's clothes until we can get her some of her own_ , Misato realized.  _I just hope this doesn't bite me in the ass_ , she thought as she walked out of her room and over to the kitchen. "Hey, Shinji? Is it okay if I lend Rei some of your clothes until Saturday?" Misato asked the boy.

"Uh, sure," Shinji replied as he began turning down the temperature of the stove top. Dinner would be ready soon.

"All right, thanks!" Misato responded cheerfully as she quickly made her way down the hall before entering Shinji's room.

Misato made a short B-line for Shinji's dresser, opening it and pulling out one pair of underwear, socks, khaki pants, and a blue shirt for Rei, along with a spare belt.  _Rei said that she already has a few bras, so I don't need to worry about that_ , Misato thought to herself as she carried the clothing out of Shinji's room and over to Rei's room. Opening the door, Misato entered the smaller room and held out the clothing to Rei, who had already slipped into her underwear, socks, and bra.

"Here you go!" Misato said cheerfully. Rei wordlessly reached out and took the clothes from Misato.

"I appreciate your gesture," Rei said in monotone.

"You're... welcome," Misato replied awkwardly. "Anyway, I'm gonna get my shower now, so I'll see you and Shinji some time during dinner," Misato said as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Rei looked at the garments in her hands before setting them down on the floor. She put on the shirt first, finding that it was somewhat loose, but it still fit her decently. Next came the khaki pants, which puzzled Rei. She then noticed the belt. Quickly noticing the loops on the side of the pants for the belt to go through, Rei looped the belt first before putting on the pants, keeping the shirt tucked in.

Rei then made her way out of the room and into the hall, before walking out to the living room, where Pen-Pen was busy reading something. Walking over to the penguin, Rei bowed. "Hello again," she said softly to Pen-Pen. Pen-Pen looked up at her, startled. "Wark," he soon replied, nodding his head. Rei curtly nodded her head in response, despite not understanding what message the penguin could have been conveying.

Rei then slowly turned and made her way into the kitchen. Shinji was already setting up the table, placing bowls of food down in specific locations. "Oh, Ayanami. You... uh, look nice," Shinji said, the memory of Rei's nudity threatening to come back to the surface. He forced those images back down as he kept his composure.

Rei nodded her head in response. "Uh, so... um, I don't know what you normally eat at home, so... I just made what we usually have," Shinji said, referring to the rice and chicken dish he had finished preparing. "It's rice with some chicken and chopped radishes... and noodles. Misato's got  _a lot_  of instant noodle packages here, so... I figured I might as well make use of 'em," Shinji said.

"I see," Rei said, eyeing the chicken with disdain.

"Is... something wrong?" Shinji asked her as he noticed her expression.

"I do not... eat chicken," Rei said softly.

"Oh. Do you want something else instead, like pork?" Shinji asked her.

"Allow me to rephrase. I do not consume meat if I can avoid it," Rei said.

"Oh. You don't like meat?" Shinji asked her.

"It is not a matter of liking or disliking meat, Ikari. My stomach simply... does not handle meat very well," Rei explained. "I have trouble digesting it," she added.

" _Oh_ ," Shinji said, nodding his head in understanding. "All right. I think I have some miso soup packets in one of the cupboards. I'll prepare one of those for you. There's no meat in the miso," Shinji said.

Rei nodded her head appreciatively. "Thank you, Pilot Ikari," Rei said softly.

"Please, you can call me Shinji," Shinji said with a smile.

"Very well. Thank you... Shinji," Rei said.

"You're welcome... Ayanami," Shinji said in reply. "Oh! Um, when we go shopping on Saturday, I'll check around the grocery store for some vegetarian meals," Shinji said as he retrieved a packet of instant miso soup mix from a cupboard.

"I... am appreciative of your gesture," Rei said, nodding her head.

"You're welcome," Shinji replied without hesitation as he grabbed a clean bowl and emptied the soup mix into it while following the packet's instructions. He then added warm water to the mix before stirring it with a spoon and grabbing the tofu cubes to drop in. When he was finished, he walked over to the spot on the table where he had initially set Rei's portion of the meal, moving it aside before setting the soup bowl down.

"I'll have to remember this the next time I cook dinner," Shinji said as he stood up. "Thank you... Shinji," Rei said with a curt nod. She was unaccustomed to such hospitality. She didn't really know how to act or react in any meaningful capacity.

"It's no problem. Um... is it okay if I call you... Rei?" Shinji asked her.

_If I am to call him by his first name, then it is appropriate that I allow him to refer to me by mine. As he and Captain Katsuragi refer to one another on such a formal basis, and Captain Katsuragi has made it clear that she intends for me to stay here, I suppose there is no harm in agreeing to such a formality_ , Rei thought to herself. She curtly nodded her head. "Yes, Shinji. You may refer to me as such," Rei said with some amount of awkwardness.

"Thank you... Rei," Shinji said with a smile.

"You are... welcome, Shinji," Rei said, slightly less awkwardly than before. The more she said his name, the easier it became to do so, she soon discovered. "Ika-I mean,  _Shinji_ , will Captain Katsuragi allow me to refer to her in such a formal manner, or must I wait a period of time to do so?" Rei asked Shinji.

"Um... I think she'll be okay with it starting tonight, but perhaps you should ask her first. Just, you know, to be polite," Shinji said.

"I see. When Captain Katsuragi has returned from her shower, I shall ask her for permission," Rei said.

Shinji then gestured for Rei to sit down at the table while he finished setting the rest of the dishes down. He then chose a spot perpendicular to her before calling out to Pen-Pen. "Pen-Pen! Dinner's ready!" Shinji called out to the genetically engineered warm-water penguin. Said penguin eagerly came waddling into the kitchen before sitting down perpendicular to Rei.

"Oh, he eats with us?" Rei asked Shinji as they waited for Misato to return.

"Uh, yeah. I was kind of surprised too when I first moved in. I first met Pen-Pen as I was getting ready for a bath, and, well... it was quite the surprise," Shinji said with an embarrassed chuckle, remembering the incident quite well.

"I see. What is that... device on his back?" Rei asked curiously, noting how she had seen similar designs for such things in one of Ritsuko Akagi's labs some years earlier.

"Um... to be honest, I'm really not sure. I've actually never bothered to find out," Shinji replied in a thoughtful tone of voice. "So... um, what was your old place like? Before it was... destroyed today?" Shinji asked Rei.

"It was... minimally sufficient," Rei replied curtly.

"What does that mean?" Shinji asked her, somewhat confused.

"It had the basic necessary requirements for a tenant to live in it. Although, the water-heater has been broken for several years," Rei added in monotone.

"So, the water didn't work?" Shinji asked her.

"I did not say that. I said that the water-heater did not work. I was still able to take showers, albeit with cold water," Rei explained.

"Cold water? Every day?" Shinji asked her, aghast at the thought.

"It was... not entirely unpleasant... after I became accustomed to it," Rei said with the very slightest hint of something resembling disdain in her voice. Shinji slowly nodded his head, not really understanding how anyone could stand having to take a cold shower every day for several years.

"I guess... this means our bath is a nice change of pace, right?" Shinji asked Rei.

Rei nodded her head in agreement. "Yes. It is most satisfying," Rei said with a small smile on her face. Shinji, noticing this, found himself almost blown away by the fact that Rei was expressing a genuine emotion on her face.  _She's... got a nice smile_ , Shinji thought to himself.

_Among other things_ , a more primitive part of his mind brought up. Shinji, while not disagreeing with himself, forced that thought process back down into his subconscious. He would revisit those thoughts later in the evening... when he would be by himself. Right now, however, he had other things he wanted to focus on.

Soon, the sound of the wash room door opening caught the two teens' attention as Misato, now wearing blue jean shorts and a yellow tank top, walked out into the kitchen. "Mmm, I smell something good!" she announced with a smile before she sat down perpendicular to Shinji and Pen-Pen. Looking down at the food, Misato's smile widened. Misato then noticed that Rei only had a bowl of miso soup in front of her.

"Rei, is something wrong with the food Shinji prepared?" Misato asked her.

"I have difficulty digesting meat. Shinji has prepared this soup for me instead," Rei explained.

"Oh! I didn't realize that," Misato said apologetically.

Misato and Shinji said a short prayer, one that Rei did not understand, and the four soon began eating their food.

Before Rei started to eat, however, she had one thing to do. "Um, excuse me, Captain Katsuragi?" Rei asked.

"Yes, Rei?" Misato replied.

"As you and Shinji both refer to one another by your first names, is it appropriate for me to do so as well?" Rei asked her.

Misato's eyes widened. "Uh... sure. Yeah, no problem," Misato replied with a nod of her head, somewhat surprised by Rei's request. Given how the girl had been behaving so far, and her lack of social skills, Misato was caught completely off-guard by how quickly she was adapting to her new environment.

"Thank you... Misato," Rei said in appreciation, albeit still in monotone.

_She still doesn't know how to use honorifics, though. But... eh, one step at a time. One step at a time_ , Misato though to herself as she began eating. The rest of the meal passed in relative silence. When the foursome were finished, Shinji once again began collecting the used dishes to begin cleaning them. Pen-Pen made his way back over to his small room located next to the wash room door, while Misato guided Rei to her room to help her prepare her futon and blankets early.

"Now, Rei, if you want, you can sleep or do whatever in this room wearing whatever you want. It's your room now. If you want to sleep naked, you're free to do so. If you wish to simply lie around or do whatever while naked in here, you're free to do so. Just remember to put on some clothes when you're preparing to leave the room, and keep your door closed when you aren't clothed. Don't wanna give Shinji another free show now," Misato said teasingly.

"I understand," Rei said in monotone.

"Look, I know that this must seem a bit restricting when compared to the freedom you had when you lived alone, but... well, Shinji's a teenage boy, and you're a teenage girl. I'm aware that you... don't have much experience with social norms, but when you become aware of them, I do hope that you'll follow them," Misato said.

"I understand," Rei said with a brief nod of her head.

"All right. Now, let's get this futon ready," Misato said as she unrolled the slim mattress and laid it down on the floor. Walking over to a set of folded blankets in a corner, Misato grabbed one and unfolded it unceremoniously before draping it over the futon. "Now, I'll just grab you a pillow and you'll have a nice little bed to sleep on tonight," Misato said. Rei said nothing, but she did nod her head briefly in acknowledgement.

"And on Saturday... we're gonna get you some new clothes," Misato said.

"Yes. You have already stated that," Rei said in monotone.

"I know. I just... wanted to say it again," Misato said sheepishly, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Cap-I mean, Misato, am I required to retire for the night at this moment, or am I permitted to stay up for a period longer to become better acclimated to the apartment?" Rei asked the older woman.

"Sure, I'm not sending you to bed right away, Rei. I was just helping you set up the futon now so that you wouldn't have to worry about it later," Misato said.

"I see," Rei said with a curt nod of her head.

"So, wanna go watch some TV?" Misato asked Rei. The girl simply blinked at her silently in response. "I'll take that as a... well, something," Misato said before gesturing for Rei to follow her out into the hall and further into the living room. "Now... what's your favorite show or channel?" Misato asked Rei after sitting down on the couch. Rei merely stared at her and blinked in curiosity.

"You... you don't watch much television, do you?" Misato asked her. Rei simply blinked at her in response. "Or... at all, I'm guessing?" Rei slowly shook her head. "[Sigh]  _Of course not_ ," Misato said quietly to herself. "Well, better late than never! Rei, take a seat next to me and prepare to open your mind!" Misato chirped as she patted the cushion beside herself. Rei hesitantly sat down next to the older woman and allowed herself to observe the entertainment programming presented on the wide rectangular device in the corner of the room.

The rest of the night passed by in relative peace, before it was time for bed. As Rei was stripping down, remembering to close the door as Misato had requested, she couldn't help but accrue a strange sensation in the back of her mind, as though she were missing or forgetting something. Looking around the room, Rei soon dismissed the thought. She had all of the necessary supplies with her, and she had approached Doctor Akagi earlier in the afternoon, shortly after learning of her apartment's destruction, to appropriate a replacement of the medication to control the development of her S2 organ. Pulling out the small pill bottle from her suitcase, Rei placed the Nephilum control drug on the shelf nearby, before returning to her futon. Satisfied that she had all of her  _necessary_  requirements taken care of, Rei allowed herself to drift off to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment, Friday, June 25, 2042**

Opening her eyes, Rei quickly rose from her futon and and grabbed one of her school uniforms nearby before putting it on. Quickly walking over to the shelf, she took one of her pills before exiting the room. After making a quick trip to the bathroom, she returned to her room and retrieved a small box of cereal from her suitcase. She looked at the bland cover of the box, noting that it was a special blend developed by NERV's Research and Development department. Doctor Akagi had given her the box yesterday in hopes that she would be able to get field data for it if Rei were to eat it.

Making her way out to the kitchen, while noticing that Shinji was groggily making his way into the bathroom, Rei grabbed a bowl from a cupboard and a spoon before setting them down on the table. She then made her way to the fridge, opening it to find leftovers from the previous night's dinner and a half-gallon container of milk. Retrieving the milk, Rei made her way over to the table. As she sat down, she poured the cereal into the bowl.

The cereal resembled any generic corn flake cereal found pretty much everywhere.  _Why does Doctor Akagi wish to develop a cereal? This is most puzzling_ , Rei thought to herself as she set the box aside and opened the container of milk. With carefully measured movements, Rei slowly poured the milk onto the cereal before setting the container to the side. Just as she was reaching for her spoon, however, the most unexpected thing happened. Smoke began rising from the cereal, before a bout of flames shot up from it.

Rei's eyes widened slightly in alarm before she stood up and made her way over to the bathroom. Pulling the bathroom door to the side, Rei walked up to Shinji while he brushed his teeth. "Shinji, where do we keep the fire extinguisher?" Rei asked him, causing him to pause and look at her.

"Why?" Shinji asked her hesitantly. Misato was still in bed, so she couldn't have been trying to cook breakfast, right?

Rei's response was simple and to the point. "My cereal and milk have spontaneously combusted." Shinji blinked at her in confusion.  _Perhaps he does not understand my terminology?_  She decided to clarify her statement. "My cereal and milk have caught fire for no apparent reason."

Shinji blinked at her. "What?" he asked before following her out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, where Rei simply pointed to the bowl that was on fire. " _Holy crap!_  How did this happen!?" Shinji asked Rei in a panic.

"I do not know. I poured milk onto my cereal, and then it caught fire," Rei explained in monotone. Shinji quickly ran over to one of the kitchen cupboards and opened it to retrieve a small fire extinguisher. He quickly smothered the flame with it, covering the bowl and table in whiteness.

Taking a minute to catch his breath, Shinji set down the tiny fire extinguisher and looked over at Rei. "Okay, cereal and milk are  _not_  supposed to do that," Shinji said.

"I concur. However, the fact remains that it did indeed happen," Rei said.

"Rei, what happened?" Shinji asked her.

"What do you mean? I poured milk onto the cereal and then it caught fire," Rei said with the tiniest hint of something in her voice.

"Was there anything else in the cereal? What kind of bowl did you use?" Shinji asked her.

"I used a standard ceramic bowl. The milk I used was normal milk from cows. I added nothing to the cereal, other than the milk," Rei explained calmly.

"What cereal did you use?" Shinji asked her. Rei walked over to the table and picked up the box before holding it out to Shinji. Shinji gently took the box in his hands and looked it over. "NERV Brand breakfast cereal? NERV has its own brand of breakfast cereal? Okay then," Shinji said as he looked over the list of ingredients, noticing several things that were not normally found in cereal. He then noticed a small disclaimer at the very bottom of the box.

"Warning... may catch fire if exposed to whole, two percent, or one percent milk!?" Shinji said in disbelief as he read the warning. "Who would make a cereal that catches fire when exposed to  _milk!?_ " Shinji asked rhetorically. Just then, Misato walked into the kitchen, heading for the bathroom.

"Hey, guys. Oh, we're having cereal for breakfast?" Misato asked as she noticed the box in Shinji's hands.

"Um, no. Not this morning. Misato, who's in charge of NERV's research and development department," Shinji asked in response.

"Oh, Ritsuko. Why?" Misato asked, before she noticed the fire extinguisher and foam on the kitchen table. "What happened in here?" Misato asked quizzically.

* * *

**NERV HQ, Later That Morning...**

"Ritsuko! What the hell is  _this!?_ " Misato asked as she slammed the box of combustible cereal down onto a lab table.

"A  _box_ ," Ritsuko replied snarkily.

"No. Rits, do you know that your R&D department has developed some kind of lethal cereal?" Misato asked her friend.

"Lethal? What are- _oh_ , you tried to use regular milk, didn't you? I thought I told Rei to read the labels before using it," Ritsuko said.

"You...  _you_  gave this to Rei? Were you trying to use her as some sort of guinea pig or something?" Misato asked her in an angry tone.

"It was supposed to be a field test," Ritsuko said.

"Ritsuko... my  _kitchen_  was almost burned down this morning! And you  _approved_  of this thing being developed!?" Misato asked her.

"Of course. Having a special brand of cereal would give us additional funding without the need to constantly play nice with the U.N.," Ritsuko replied. Misato's jaw dropped in response.

"You, you're... mad!" Misato exclaimed.

"No, I'm just creative," Ritsuko replied.

"But... this stuff  _catches fire_  when exposed to  _milk!_  Fucking  _milk_ , Ritsuko!" Misato retorted. "Why would you ever  _approve_  something like this!?" Misato asked her.

"I just told you. The funding provided by the sales of the cereal would be beneficial to NERV," Ritsuko said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"But it catches fire when exposed to milk!" Misato shot back.

"Not  _all milk_ ," Ritsuko pointed out. "It's perfectly safe if you use skim milk," she explained. Misato's left eye began to twitch in response.

"How do you even  _make_  something like that!?" Misato asked her.

"Very carefully," Ritsuko said with a smirk. Misato soon reached up to hold her head in both hands, groaning in frustration.

"Okay, I'm leaving this box of demon cereal with you, Rits," Misato soon said as she took her hands away from her face. "But... if I see another one of your experimental foods or beverages in my apartment again... I'm going to report this," Misato said with a glare. Ritsuko simply rolled her eyes in response.

"I mean it! Don't be giving these things to Rei anymore... or Shinji, for that matter!" Misato snapped before she turned around and made her way toward the exit. Ritsuko watched silently as Misato walked out the door.

"What a crybaby," Ritsuko muttered before she took a drag of her cigarette.

* * *

**The Tokyo-3 Shopping Mall, Saturday, June 26, 2042**

Standing by a rack of shirts in a clothing store, Misato and Rei were busy selecting new clothes for Rei to wear. Rei was currently wearing the blue shirt and khaki pants that Misato had borrowed from Shinji for her, while Misato was wearing her usual outfit. Shinji was wearing a yellow shirt and black slacks, although he was currently talking with Kensuke and Toji over by a food court.

"How about this one?" Misato suggested as she held up a red shirt.

"No," Rei said simply as her left eye twitched at the sight of the red garment. She disliked the color red.

"Okay, well... what about this one?" Misato asked as she held up another red shirt.

"Cap-I mean,  _Misato_ , I do not like the color red," Rei stated.

"Oh. Well, why didn't you say so earlier?" Misato asked Rei.

"I... did not wish to be imposing," Rei said hesitantly.  _Imposing... is that the correct word in this context? I am unsure. I hope that it is the proper word_ , Rei thought to herself.

"Rei, we're going shopping for  _you_. We need to know what  _you_ like," Misato said with a sigh as she hung the shirt back on the rack. "So, what colors  _do_  you like, Rei?" Misato asked her.

Rei looked around the store as she tried to find an answer.  _Liking something has never been a priority to me. I have a dislike of certain things, but even that does not matter. And yet... I have deliberately opposed the selection of something that I do not like, therefore... it must matter on some level. But why? I have never truly cared about matters of this nature before now. All that matters is the Commander's scenario... right? But... selecting clothing for myself does not adversely affect the scenario. Therefore... I should not worry about making such an indulgence_ , Rei thought to herself.

"I prefer the colors... blue, white... green... and even purple, to a degree," Rei finally said as she looked Misato in the eyes. Misato nodded her head.

"Okay. That's a good place to start. What kind of shirts would you prefer to wear? T-shirts? Button up shirts? Polo shirts?" Misato asked her.

_Why does such a selection matter? I... I am confused_ , Rei thought to herself, feeling uncomfortable. "Misato... I... have never cared about what I wear before now. I do not... I... I do not know what I am supposed to do," Rei said. "I do not know what type of clothing is the most appropriate for me," Rei said in mostly monotone. Her discomfort, however, slowly seeped through as she continued speaking.

Misato, not having known Rei for very long, did  _not_  pick up on the girl's discomfort, although she did begin to question just what kind of existence Rei had been leading up until this point. "Rei... have you...  _ever_  wanted something for yourself?" Misato asked her. Rei glanced around the store as she began processing the question.

"Aside from warm water for a shower, there has been nothing that I have truly desired in my life," Rei replied softly.

"You haven't ever wanted new shoes? Or a new pair of pants? You haven't ever wanted a certain type of food to eat? Or a music album? Anything at all?" Misato asked her curiously.

Rei shook her head. "No. I have never had any need of such things. I... I was told by the Commander that such things are irrelevant," Rei said. Misato frowned at this.

"So, you've never tried to experience all of the things that life has to offer... because Commander Ikari said that there was no need?" Misato asked her in disbelief.

Rei nodded her head in response. "Is there anything that you do other than eat, bathe, sleep and go to school?" Misato asked her as she walked over and grabbed a blue shirt from a rack.

"I synchronize with the Evas," Rei replied.

"Anything aside from that?" Misato asked her.

"No. I... have never done anything that was not related to the Evas or school," Rei said bluntly.

A sad expression came over Misato's face as she looked at Rei. Letting out a sigh, Misato walked over with a blue shirt and held it out in front of Rei. "Okay, starting today, you are going to start being more... decisive and in control of your life. Now, look at this shirt, hold it, feel it, and then tell me what you think of it," Misato said.

"If I am doing what you order of me, then how am I being more decisive?" Rei asked her. Misato rolled her eyes in response.

"Think of it as training," Misato finally replied.

"I see," Rei said in understanding as she took hold of the shirt. She allowed herself to feel the texture of the fabric, to look at the coloration of it, noticing what shade of blue it was.  _This shirt... is satisfactory_ , Rei thought to herself.  _This shade of blue is... pleasing to the eye. Sky blue, I believe it is called_ , Rei noted.

"Well? What do you think of the shirt?" Misato asked her. Rei looked up at Misato.

"It is satisfactory. I do not believe the fabric will irritate my skin in any way," Rei said. Misato had to resist the urge to roll her eyes or sigh in frustration.  _We're making progress. Baby steps, Misato, baby steps_.  _Don't rush things_ , she mentally told herself.

Slowly but surely, Rei began picking and choosing the pants and shirts that she found to be acceptable to her slowly developing tastes. Mostly these consisted of blue shirts and khaki pants, since she found them to be comfortable. Of course, Misato had to make sure that she bought the women's' shirts and pants so that Rei and Shinji's clothes wouldn't get mixed up in the wash.

Over the course of the next two hours, Rei ended up selecting seven pairs of khaki pants, four blue shirts, and three white shirts. Misato had hoped that Rei would be more... expansive in her selection, but given Rei's personality and upbringing, she decided that any progress was good progress in regards to helping Rei open up and begin to  _live_  instead of simply existing. "Alright, let's go get something to eat," Misato said after purchasing Rei's new clothes.

Rei simply nodded her head and followed Misato out of the store, carrying her bags of clothes in both hands. As the duo made their way to the nearby food court, Misato noticed that the two boys from the battle with Shamshel were talking to Shinji while eating pizza. "So, Rei... is there anything that you'd like to try?" Misato asked Rei as she kept glancing over at the two troublemakers and her charge.

"I do not know. What options are available?" Rei asked softly as she looked around the food court.

"Well... I see a vegetable grill over that way. You said the other night that you have trouble digesting meat, right?" Misato asked her.

"That is correct," Rei replied.

"Well, I should think that the vegetable grill would be safe for you to try," Misato said. "They don't use meat in any of their menu items," she added.

"That is... acceptable," Rei said in monotone.

"Hm... yeah, we're gonna have to work on your vocabulary as well," Misato said.

Rei looked at Misato in confusion.  _My vocabulary should be considered quite extensive for someone of my age_ , Rei thought to herself.  _Why does Captain Katsuragi believe that my vocabulary needs adjusting? Perhaps I have spoken with so few words that I have unintentionally given her the impression that my vocabulary is limited? I suppose that expressing a greater number of words when I speak will allow for the greater development and continued maintenance of a harmonious relationship between Captain Katsuragi, myself, and pilot Ikari_ , Rei decided.

Meanwhile, over at the table where Shinji, Toji, and Kensuke were sitting, the topic of Rei's new residence had finally come up. "So, Shinji, you've got two beautiful babes living with you now," Kensuke said with a grin.

"And? Misato is like a child in an adult's body, and Rei is... I'm not really sure how to describe her," Shinji said thoughtfully.

"So... is she loud, obnoxious, lazy, rude, quiet, polite... come on, man, what's she like in private?" Toji asked Shinji. Shinji glanced over his shoulder to see Rei and Misato standing in line in front of the vegetable grill.

"She's... not that much different from how she is at school. Although... she seems fond of Pen-Pen," Shinji said.

"Pen-Pen? What's that, like a TV show or something?" Kensuke asked him.

"No, that's the name of Misato's warm-water penguin. He's a genetic experiment that she rescued when he was about to be put down... or so Misato claims. I only believe the genetic experiment part of her story," Shinji said.

"Huh... so, how's this penguin any different from other penguins?" Toji asked Shinji.

"Well... he can read and write," Shinji said. Kensuke and Toji both blinked at him in bewilderment.

"A penguin... that can read and write?" Kensuke asked him in disbelief.

"And drink beer. If you don't believe me, then just tag along back to the apartment and you can meet him," Shinji said.

"Okay. So... back to the earlier questions, Shinji," Toji said. "Does she talk more in private than she does in public, or... does she just sit down and stare out the window like she does at school?" Toji asked.

"No, she... reads books and magazines. Misato got her to watch some TV last night and the night before, but... she doesn't seem too interested in anything that isn't educational," Shinji. "At least... for the time being. She didn't have a TV at her old apartment," Shinji elaborated.

"No? What did she do for fun?" Kensuke asked.

"Um... yeah, ' _fun_ '. I think that word is foreign to her," Shinji said.

"Uh... whaddya' mean?" Toji asked him.

"Before she moved in with me and Misato, Rei said that she simply... existed," Shinji said.

"Yeah?" Kensuke asked him curiously.

"Yeah. Apparently, my father was the one who put her in that apartment she lived in, but it had a broken water heater, and it was a dump. I can't believe I was actually jealous of Rei having a deeper relationship with my father than I ever did," Shinji said with a disbelieving chortle. "Seriously, I was actually jealous. Turns out he's just as neglectful to her as he is with me," he added.

Toji and Kensuke glanced at each other curiously. "Oh, she's also a vegetarian," Shinji said.

"Is that so?" Kensuke asked him.

"Yup. Apparently she has digestive problems and meat doesn't agree with her stomach," Shinji explained.

"Oh. I've got a cousin who's like dat," Toji said. "He can't eat any meat... except a'course fer salmon. He says that's the only stuff that'll pass through him without trouble. But, anyways, yeah dat must suck for her," Toji said.

"Yeah. But... it actually gives me a chance to be more creative with what I cook at home, in a strange way. And it gives me a starting place for teaching Misato how to cook without killing her guests," Shinji said.

"Wait, what was that last part?" Kensuke asked him.

"Misato is a terrible cook," Shinji said bluntly.

"Seriously?" Toji asked him.

"Seriously," Shinji replied.

"But... she's such a babe!" Toji pointed out.

"That she is, but she's still a terrible cook," Shinji countered. "Besides, how does her attractiveness affect her cooking skills?" Shinji then asked Toji.

"Well... my dad always says that the fastest way for a woman to get into a man's heart is with food," Toji said.

"So... you think that means all women know how to cook?" Shinji asked him.

"Uh... well, up 'til now, yeah," Toji replied.

"I'm sorry to say this, Toji, but... your whole life is nothing but a lie," Kensuke said. Shinji rolled his eyes at Kensuke's attempt at humor, while Toji just stared at him. "And anyway, the fastest way to a man's heart isn't through his stomach," Kensuke said with a grin. "It's a little... farther down, if you know what I mean," he said.

"What are you-oooohhhh," Shinji said as understanding dawned on him.

"Huh... so, yer gay?" Toji asked Kensuke, jumping to conclusions.

" _What!?_ " Kensuke asked him.

"Well, ya just said that the quickest way to a man's heart is through his dick, and how else would ya know dat unless yer gay?" Toji asked him.

Kensuke stared at Toji in disbelief. "Toji, I'm straight! The reason I said that was because I know that would be the quickest way for a girl to get into  _my heart_ ," Kensuke retorted.

"Oh. Sorry," Toji said apologetically. This prompted Shinji to start snickering.

A few minutes later, Shinji heard footsteps approaching the table and he looked over his shoulder to see Misato and Rei walking up to the group. "Hey boys, is it okay if we join you?" Misato asked them. Toji and Kensuke both blushed and nodded their heads with eager smiles.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Toji said enthusiastically.

"Y-Yeah!" Kensuke added.

"Why, thank you!" Misato said with a knowing smile. She quickly pulled out a chair for herself and Rei, who sat down and allowed her bags to rest on the floor before Misato handed her the tray of grilled vegetables. Rei took a plastic fork and hesitantly skewered a few pieces before bringing them up to her mouth.

_This is... agreeable. I do not dislike this dish_ , Rei thought to herself as she took her first bite.  _I wish to consume more_ , she thought as she continued eating. Misato watched how Rei ate the food for a moment before turning her attention to Shinji and his friends. "So, what have you guys been up to today?" Misato asked them.

"Oh, we've just been talking," Shinji said.

"Hm, talking about what?" Misato asked with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, you know... stuff," Shinji said nervously, Misato's expression putting him on edge.

"What kind of  _stuff?_ " Misato asked knowingly.

"G-Guy stuff," Shinji said, his eyes darting back and forth between Misato and the others.

"Hey, Miss Katsuragi, is it all right for us to come over to your apartment today?" Kensuke asked suddenly. Misato blinked in response.

"Uh... sure. But just so you know, your camera's memory card is back in NERV HQ, Aida-san," Misato said.

_Dammit! Oh well_ , Kensuke thought to himself. "Oh, that's okay. I have a pretty good memory, so I can probably draw the inside of the Eva's cockpit without any pictures," Kensuke said with a grin.

"Hm... Aida-san, I think I may need to have you accompany me to NERV HQ later," Misato said with a terrifying smile.

Kensuke immediately blanched. "I-I mean, my memory is  _terrible!_  Please, don't lobotomize me!" Kensuke pleaded. Misato soon started laughing in response.

"Oh, I'm just  _teasing_ ," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "But sure, you can join us on our way home. Once Rei is done eating," Misato said, prompting Rei to glance at her almost imperceptibly quick.

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment, Later That Evening...**

Sitting in the bath tub, Rei allowed herself to relax as the warm water washed her troubles away.  _I have never... had a long bath before_ , Rei thought to herself.  _The Commander has always told me that such things are irrelevant or immaterial to my purpose, and that I should avoid them_ , Rei continued thinking.  _But... is the Commander... w-wrong? No, the Commander is not wrong, but... that is no reason to avoid enjoying such things either_ , Rei thought to herself.

Letting out a blissful sigh, Rei soon blinked in confusion.  _Did that... come from me? Did... did I just... do that?_  Looking around the bathroom, Rei was certain that there was no one else in the room.

_Logically, it must have been me. I have... have I ever done that before? Perhaps... perhaps I have done so before, but without noticing? The human body often does things unconsciously without the body's owner realizing it, so it is reasonable to assume that I may have done that before without noticing it happening_ , Rei thought to herself.  _But_ , Rei reminded herself,  _I am not fully human_.

**Two Hours Later...**

Laying down on her futon, Rei looked out the small window of her room at the night sky. The moon was no longer full, but the glow of what could be seen was still captivating to her. A soft knock on her door soon caught her attention. "I am covered, you may open," Rei said.

The shoji door soon slid open to reveal Misato's face. "Hey, Rei... I have to head into NERV for some meetings tomorrow, but you and Shinji aren't scheduled for anything, so I may already be gone by the time you guys wake up," Misato said.

"I see," Rei replied softly.

"Rei... I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable today, especially since I pretty much forced you into doing things that you've probably never done before," Misato said.

"It is... all right," Rei said. "I was not miserable, if that is how my behavior was perceived," Rei added.

"No, I didn't think that you were. I just... hope I didn't make you too uncomfortable is all," Misato replied.

"Perhaps... a small amount, but I have experienced far greater discomfort before, and under far less ideal circumstances," Rei replied.

"Uh-huh. I just... wanted to make sure that you're okay," Misato said softly.

"I am fine," Rei replied softly.

"Okay. So, as I said, I probably won't be here when you and Shinji wake up tomorrow. Oh, one more thing, Rei? If Ritsuko ever gives you some kind of experimental food or beverage to bring home, say no to her. I refuse to have my apartment burned down," Misato said.

"Do not worry, Cap-I mean, Misato. I will refuse any offers made to me by Doctor Akagi concerning experimental sustenance. I too wish for this domicile to remain undamaged," Rei replied.

"Thanks, Rei. Well, I'll see you sometime tomorrow. Good night," Misato said softly before closing the shoji door.

Laying back on the futon, Rei soon closed her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**ENDING THEME: Everything You've Ever Dreamed (Performed by ARIANNE)**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, the Fifth Angel, Ramiel, makes his appearance. With Ramiel proving to be more dangerous than any prior Angel, NERV must come up with a daring solution to defeat the juggernaut before it can breach the Geofront and start Third Impact.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: I did it! I finished the fourth episode! Writing episodes that aren't based on previous ones is a bit more difficult than writing chapters based on pre-existing episodes, since I pretty much have to make up the content from scratch. Still, I had a fun time writing it. Originally, this episode was to take place over the course of a month, but I soon realized that this would force me to either condense a lot of things or stretch out the chapter to an extreme length. Therefore, this episode takes place over three days, but don't worry, the appearance of Ramiel won't occur until well over a month after the events of this episode. As I mentioned before, this story takes place over the course of two years, so I'm spreading the Angels apart from one another.
> 
> Anyway, please be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter/episode and/or story so far in your reviews! I hope you had fun reading it!


	5. The Devil's Cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fifth Angel, Ramiel, has arrived. With this Angel proving to be more dangerous than the ones which came before, NERV must come up with a desperate ploy to stop this Angel before it can breach the Geofront and initiate Third Impact.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

Brace yourselves. This episode is going to be quite long compared to the previous one, as a lot of stuff happens.

As Always, I listened to music from various soundtracks while writing this to get me in the zone, so to speak. Soundtracks i listened to include  _Shiro SAGISU Music From Evangelion 1.0: You Are (NOT) Alone_  (2007) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  by Shiro Sagisu & Masamichi Amano and Yoichi Murata,  _Kare Kano_  (1998) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Gamera 2: Advent of Legion_  (1996) by Kow (or Kou, or Koh, or however the hell his name is spelled) Ohtani, and  _Total Recall_  (1990) by the late legendary Jerry Goldsmith. I chose music from  _Total Recall_  because it is one of the  _finest_  action scores ever composed. For this chapter/episode, I  _highly_  recommend listening to these music selections (be it on YouTube or from your own music libraries) in the selected order while reading this story.

Music From  _Evangelion 1.0_  (2007):  _Lucifer's Cry_ ,  _Strategie "Yashima"_ ,  _The Longest Day III_ ,  _Danse Des Lucioles_ ,  _Battaille Decisive_ ,  _Rei Opus V_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_ (2009) :  _E01 - Decisive Battle 02 (Murata Session)_ ,  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_ ,  _A01 - Rei I_.

Music From  _Macross II: Lovers Again_  (1992):  _The Ship Of The Alus_ ,  _Emulator_.

Music From  _Gamera 2: Advent Of Legion_  (1996):  _All Out War_ ,  _Simulation_ ,  _Tank Corps On The Move I_ ,  _Tank Corps On The Move II_ ,  _The Autopsy_ ,  _Identification Of Body Tissue_ ,  _Last Line Of Defense_ ,  _The Day of Catastrophe_.

Music From  _Godzilla vs. Mothra_ (1992):  _Maser March/Mesa March_.

Music From  _Kare Kano_  (1998):  _Peace Reigns In The Land_ ,  _Treasure Every Meeting_  (this track was rearranged and reused by Sagisu in Rebuild 2.0, in the sequence showing Misato's flashback to 2nd impact).

Music From  _Total Recall_  (1990):  _End Of A Dream_.

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Treasure Every Meeting_  (daily activities in Tokyo-3 and NERV HQ),  **02.**   _Emulator_  (Ramiel arrives in Tokyo-3),  **03**.  _Lucifer's Cry_  (Launch of Unit 01/Ramiel decimates Unit 01),  **04**.  _Tank Corps On The Move I_  (NERV studies Ramiel's capabilities),  **05**.  _Stategie "Yashima"_  (Misato comes up with the plan to defeat Ramiel),  **06**.  _Tank Corps On The Move II_  (Misato's plan is put into action, montage style),  **07**.  _The Ship Of The Alus_  (Misato shows Lilith to Shinji),  **08**.  _Danse Des Lucioles_  (Rei and Shinji prepare their Evas),  **09**.  _Maser/Mesa March_ (During the helicopter and tank battalion's initial strike on Ramiel),  **10**.  _End Of A Dream_  (Ramiel's second wind and countdown to Shinji's final shot),  **11**.  _Rei Opus V_  (After the battle).

**M usic After Ending Theme**

**12**.  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 05: The Devil's Cry**

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment, Monday, July 28, 2042**

Shinji Ikari looked at the note sheet in front of him while steadying his arm as he sat outside on the veranda with his cello. He held the bow carefully against the strings of the instrument as he began moving it back and forth in accordance with the notes on the sheet. "No... no, that's not right," Shinji said to himself as he messed up too many notes in a row. "Let's try this again," he said to himself as he started over.

After a few more minutes, he began to smile as his playing matched the notes. Sitting inside the living, Rei held Pen-Pen in her arms as she turned down the volume of the TV, listening to Shinji playing his cello. Over the past month, Rei had gotten more comfortable around Shinji and Misato, as well as Pen-Pen, whom she considered a kindred spirit in some regards. She also found herself growing fond of hearing Shinji practice his cello.

While Shinji's skill with the cello weren't exactly masterful, he was still a decent performer, and no matter how many times he messed up a note, he still persisted until he got it right. Rei also found his playing to be pleasant as well. There had been many occasions in the past few weeks where Rei had found herself simply sitting nearby on the floor or the couch and listening as Shinji played his cello for hours on end, since they were currently enjoying a short summer break from school.

Shinji hadn't been able to play his cello the previous week due to him and Rei having been scheduled for numerous sync tests with their Evangelions. Yesterday had been particularly busy, as Rei had finally performed a successful activation test with Unit 00. Upon finally achieving control of the Eva, Rei had done something very few individuals had ever seen her do: she had  _smiled_. It hadn't been a small smile, or a subtle one. No, it had been a genuine,  _happy smile_ , one that had floored Shinji, Misato, Ritsuko, Maya, and even  _Gendo_ , of all people.

Back in the present, Rei breathed softly through her nose as she listened to Shinji practicing his cello, her hands deftly running along the back of Pen-Pen's head in a rhythm that matched Shinji's playing. Pen-Pen produced subtle trills of contentment as Rei petted him while Shinji played his cello. With the sliding door to the veranda open, a slight breeze made its way through the apartment, lightly rustling Rei's hair.

* * *

**NERV HQ, Around Noon That Day...**

Walking into the control room of Central Dogma, 2nd Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga smiled as he saw Captain Misato Katsuragi reclining in a chair nearby. Carrying a cup of Misato's favorite coffee from one of the recreation center cafes, Hyuga walked over to Misato and held it out to her. "I, uh, got this for ya," Hyuga said with a small smile on his face.

Misato looked at Hyuga questioningly, until the scent of the brew hit her nose. Her face then immediately lit up in delight as a cheesy grin plastered itself on her face. "Oh, Hyuga! You shouldn't have!" Misato chirped happily as she gingerly took the cup from Hyuga's hand and brought the capped lid up to her lips. The trip from the cafe to the control room had given the coffee time to cool down a bit, and so it didn't burn Misato's tongue when she took a sip.

Misato smiled in delight as the warm liquid entered her mouth. "Mm. Thanks, Hyuga!" she chirped in appreciation.

"You're welcome," Hyuga said with a smile and a nod of his head before he made his way over to his post. Sitting in a chair nearby, 2nd Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba watched lazily as a series of numbers ran across his computer screen.

"That's set number... thirty-three," Aoba said with a yawn as he leaned back in his seat.

"You seem excited," Hyuga said jokingly to Aoba.

"Oh, I'm positively  _brimming_  with energy," Aoba replied sarcastically.

"Is it really that boring this morning?" Hyuga asked him.

"Pfft. There hasn't been a single blue pattern detected for the past month. I think maybe we got 'em all," Aoba said.

"I don't know about that. I mean, it took seventeen years after Second Impact before another Angel showed up. Maybe the next one is still asleep somewhere," Hyuga said as he took a sip of his own coffee.

"I guess. Things are kind of boring, though. Honestly, I could use a little excitement," Aoba said tiredly.

"Sure. You say that  _now_ , but when the next Angel actually  _does_  show up, you'll be singing a different tune," Hyuga said in response.

Aoba shrugged in response. "I guess we'll just have to see what happens," he said before returning his attention to his computer screen.

Looking over to his left, Hyuga soon noticed that 1st Lieutenant Maya Ibuki was absent. "Hey, where's Lieutenant Ibuki?" Hyuga asked Aoba.

"Huh? Oh, I think she's helping Doctor Akagi with something in one of the labs," Aoba replied tiredly as he set his computer terminal to run yet another maintenance tune up on itself.

"Are they still going over the data from Unit Zero's activation test?" Hyuga asked him.

"Maybe. I didn't ask," Aoba replied with a shrug. Hyuga turned away from Aoba and glanced over at Misato, who was reading a manga while drinking her coffee.

A few minutes later, the main screen of the control room showed an alarm symbol as a map of Japan appeared. "Is it an Angel?" Hyuga asked rhetorically as he accessed his console. Footage from an aerial drone soon appeared on the main screen, showing what appeared to be a giant octahedron floating in the air as it approached the outskirts of Tokyo-3.

"Is that a giant diamond?" Aoba asked in surprise.

"We're scanning it now," Hyuga said as the numerous hidden sensors set up in and around Tokyo-3 and the Geofront scanned the object for signs of blue pattern wavelengths. "No blue pattern wavelengths detected so far," Hyuga said after a minute.

"Well, it's moving on its own and floating in the air," Aoba said as Misato walked up behind Hyuga and watched the screen. "It's gotta be  _something_ ," Aoba added.

"I don't see a core anywhere," Misato soon said as she studied the screen.

"Maybe it's not an Angel, then? Maybe it's just a... weird-looking weather balloon?" Aoba suggested.

"Fat chance. The MAGI are running the data from the sensors right now. Any minute now," Hyuga said, just as the alarms sounded. The words BLUE PATTERN flashed on the main screen several times.

"Blue pattern confirmed. Target is now reclassified as the Fifth Angel," Hyuga said. A few minutes later, a door on their level slid open and Maya Ibuki rushed into the room, huffing and panting as she hurriedly took her seat at her station.

"Sorry! I got here as fast as I could!" Maya apologized.

"As long as you're here," Misato said as she kept her eyes glued to the screen.

Hyuga looked over at Aoba with a frown. "You really just had to complain about the peace and quiet, didn't you?" Hyuga asked him. Aoba rolled his eyes in response.

"What's the status of the Eva pilots?" Misato asked.

"Section Two reports that they're on their way right now. ETA is five minutes," Maya reported.

"Good. Let me know as soon as they've entered the building," Misato said.

* * *

**Evangelion Holding Cage 01, Ten Minutes Later...**

"Great.  _Another_  Angel," Shinji muttered as he took in a breath of LCL. Activating the entry plug's main screen, Shinji opened a small window in the corner, showing the footage of the Angel from aerial drones. "That's the Angel?" Shinji asked rhetorically as he studied the image of the giant octahedron floating in the air.

" _Affirmative, Airman Ikari_ ," Maya said over the com. "Huh. So, what do we know about it?" Shinji asked, hoping that this new Angel wouldn't have energy whips like the last one. " _At this time, we know nothing about its capabilities, Airman Ikari_ ," Maya said, referring to Shinji by his recently acquired rank of Airman First Class, which he had been given a week after defeated Shamshel. "Okay, so... we know nothing about it. Uh, can you make sure that I'm launched far away from the thing so that I have a chance to observe it without being... you know, killed on the spot?" Shinji asked.

" _Absolutely. We're selecting a section of the Tokyo-3 grid as far away as we can right now_ ," Maya said over the com. " _Once you've managed to get within a certain distance, we'll be sending Unit Zero up to provide support_ ," Maya added. "Affirmative," Shinji replied with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

Opening a private communication line with Unit 00, Shinji saw an image of Rei in her plug suit as she reclined in the seat of the entry plug. "Rei, are you ready?" Shinji asked her. " _Yes. I will accompany you as soon as I receive the order from Captain Katsuragi_ ," Rei said. While she had finally grown comfortable with referring to Misato and Shinji formally at home  _and_  out in public, she still made sure to address them informally when at NERV HQ or in the Evas.

"All right. Two versus one. I feel a  _lot_  better now," Shinji said, his confidence now boosted with the knowledge that he would not be along on this mission. " _Yes. Superior numbers should allow us to achieve a more efficient victory than prior engagements_ ," Rei said in agreement.

" _Okay, we've adjusted the deployment shaft for the new grid selection. Preparing to launch in T-Minus thirty seconds!_ " Maya announced over the com. "Affirmative," Shinji said, nodding his head.  _This will be easy. All I have to do is get close enough to see what it can do, and then Rei will arrive to back me up. We'll have this done in no time_ , Shinji thought to himself confidently.

" _Three... two... one... LAUNCH!_ " Maya shouted over the com. Shinji wasn't sure, but he suspected that Maya took an odd joy in being the one to announce the launch sequence for the Evas. In both prior sorties against the Angels, there had always been a hint of enthusiasm in her voice, and this time was no different. In fact, Shinji could practically hear the smile in Maya's voice when she said 'launch'.

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Topside...**

Ramiel stopped moving as he sensed the approaching presence of Lilith. It was faint, mixed in with something else, but it was Lilith nonetheless. It was moving upwards, through the ground, to a destination several dozen kilometers away. Scanning the cityscape around him, Ramiel soon noticed a large black box rising out of the ground just beyond a tall building. That was where Lilith's progeny would appear.

He knew it to be so. He could detect her moving ever closer. If Ramiel had a human mouth, he would have smirked. Preparing his beam, he waited as the subtle vibrations from the large box moved through the air, giving away the approach of Lilith's progeny as it neared the surface, even to those who did not possess Ramiel's superior senses.

 _And here she comes_ , Ramiel thought to himself as the vibrations grew louder.

* * *

Evangelion Unit 01 reached the surface of Tokyo-3 with a jolt. "I will  _never_  get used to that," Shinji muttered, shaking his head. Taking in his surroundings, Shinji quickly saw a large building in front of the deployment box, providing him with ample cover. "All right, now I just have to find a weapon box and I-"  _ **KA-BOOOOM!**_

Shinji watched, mouth agape, as the top of the building exploded, sending debris flying down onto Unit 01. "Oh shit, it knows I'm here!" Shinji exclaimed in fearful realization, just seconds before he noticed a large red circle in the center of the building. "What the hell is that?" Shinji asked rhetorically, as the red spot began glowing, before it gave way to a bright flash. In mere seconds, an intense, unbearable heat began to surround Unit 01 and the deployment box.

Shinji tried to move Unit 01 out of the way, but the intensity of the beam had begun melting parts of the Eva's restraints, holding Unit 01 in place as the beam continued frying the Eva. He could feel the temperature of the LCL begin to rise, and he soon found it difficult to breathe.

"Pull me back! Pull me back!" Shinji cried out in horror as he felt his skin beginning to burn inside the entry plug. He then shut his eyes as the heat continued growing. He felt like he was in an oven set on the highest temperature. "PLEASE, SOMEONE PULL ME BACK!" Shinji cried out as he felt himself being boiled alive.

"Help! Heeeeeelp! Please, somebody, do something! PLEASE!" Shinji cried out in sheer agony. " _Please_ , somebody  _ **HELP ME!**_ "

* * *

**NERV Control Room, CENTRAL DOGMA**

" _Huaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagghghghh!_ "

"Retract the platform!" Misato shouted.

"I'm trying! The heat from the beam has melted the gears!" Hyuga cried out.

Nearby, Maya looked at the vital signs on Shinji's monitor. "Oh no! Captain, Shinji's vitals are  _fading!_  He's going into cardiac arrest!" Maya cried out. Misato jerked her head over in Maya's direction before she lunged over to the terminal, watching with horror as Shinji's vitals fell.

"No. No!  _NO!_ " Misato cried out as Shinji's vitals soon flat-lined. "No! Makoto, blast the carrier bolts!" Misato shouted.

"But Captain, the inertia of the-" "I don't  _fucking care!_  Just  _do it!_ " Misato snapped at him.

"Affirmative!" Hyuga replied before entering the command code to set off a series of explosions inside the deployment box, sending the deployment harness and platform into free-fall as it fell down the shaft, hurtling at breakneck speed toward the Eva holding cage below.

"All right, Maya! Activate the plug suit's emergency survival functions! Resuscitate the pilot!" Misato barked at Maya.

"Already on it!" Maya replied as she entered a series of commands into the terminal.

"Captain, when the Eva hits the bottom of the cage, the inertia from the impact may cause severe damage to the Eva  _and_  the pilot. If Shinji  _does_  get revived, he won't stay that way when the platform hits the bottom floor," Aoba said, telling Misato what Hyuga had tried to tell her earlier.

Misato quickly grabbed Maya's headset and switched over to Unit 00's channel. "Rei! I need you to move to Unit One's shaft and deploy your Eva's AT Field to slow down the platform! Can you do that!?" Misato barked over the com.

" _I... I have not practiced such a maneuver before. I do not know if I will succeed_ ," Rei said hesitantly over the com.

"Rei, please! Unit One is on its way down in  _free-fall!_  You're the only one who can slow it down enough to prevent a fatal crash! Please, Rei! You're the only one who can do it!" Misato pleaded.

" _I will try_ ," Rei replied firmly.

"Thank you," Misato said before letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"Captain Katsuragi," the voice of Gendo Ikari boomed. "I wish to speak with you up here. ASAP," Gendo said in a neutral tone of voice.

Misato narrowed her eyes as she made her way over to a ladder nearby and began climbing. When she reached the top, she marched over to Gendo's desk. "Yes, Commander?" she asked him, trying to keep her tone even.

"Why are you giving orders that will clearly result in significant damage to both our facility  _and_  the Eva units?" Gendo asked her.

"S-Sir? Shinji was being  _boiled alive_  in his Eva. We had no choice but to detonate the carrier bolts. And besides, Rei knows how to deploy Unit Zero's AT Field. She did so multiple times yesterday during the activation test," Misato replied.

"Yes, but not in this manner. Just as well, your emotional state has me questioning whether or not your judgement is to be trusted," Gendo said calmly, with a slight condescending hint to his voice.

"Sir, with all due respect... I must disagree with your assessment of my judgement and actions," Misato said, restraining herself from punching the man in the throat.

Gendo said nothing for a minute. "Very well, Captain Katsuragi. Your present response has convinced me that you are indeed capable of staying in line despite your earlier outwardly emotional response to the current situation," Gendo said calmly.  _So, that's where Rei gets it from_ , Misato thought as she noticed the similarities in the way that Gendo and Rei spoke.

* * *

**Evangelion Holding Cage 01**

Rei watched as the platform came into view hundreds of meters above her, barreling down at dangerous speeds. Narrowing her eyes, she extended Unit 00's AT Field. She saw a brief orange haze in the air as the platform impacted it, before she started retracting the field to let the platform continue moving with measured resistance.  _I can do this. I can do this! I_ _ **have**_ _to do this!_

The platform kept moving, its metal body screeching alongside the interior of the shaft as it fell, gravity calling it home. Rei strained as she tried to push back with her Eva's AT Field, while simultaneously reining it in to let the platform keep moving. If she stopped it right then and there, the inertia would still be great enough to hurt the Eva and possibly kill Shinji.

Soon, as the platform began slowing down, Rei felt a surge of something deep inside of her, something ancient and powerful, something... familiar, yet foreign.  _What was that?_  She quickly forced herself to forget about her new sensation in order to concentrate on lowering Unit 01's platform down into the holding area, not letting up her focus until the platform had settled on the floor with a thud.

 _I... I did it_ , Rei thought to herself triumphantly. "Captain Katsuragi, I have successfully lowered Unit One's platform to the ground floor," Rei said over the com.

" _Affirmative, Rei. A medical response team is on its way_ ," Misato replied over the com.

"Understood," Rei said over the com.  _Now... to retrieve Shinji from the entry plug_.

* * *

**NERV Medical Ward, ICU, A Few Hours Later...**

Pacing back and forth outside the door to the emergency operating room, Misato Katsuragi felt a torrent of emotions swirling through her. Glancing over at a nearby bench along the wall, Misato saw Rei, whose face seemed blank, but whose balled up fists gave away her inner turmoil. Rei's breathing may have been measured, but the way her fists clenched and unclenched with every breath gave away her true emotional state. It was a very rare occurrence for Rei to outwardly display such emotions in any fashion, even through subtle means.

Misato could only take this as a sign that having Rei living with her and Shinji was causing the girl to further develop her emotional expressiveness. Her musings were soon interrupted as the door to the room slid open and Ritsuko walked out, still wearing some surgical gear. "Misato, shouldn't you be in the tactical operations center?" Ritsuko asked her friend.

"I want to know Shinji's status," Misato demanded firmly.

"Pilot Ikari has stabilized, and he's currently undergoing preparation for a skin graft," Ritsuko said.

"A skin graft?" Misato asked her in alarm. Ritsuko nodded her head in response.

"Yes. With the severity of the burns he accrued, most of his epidermal layer needs to be replaced," Ritsuko explained.

"Oh,  _Shinji_ ," Misato whispered apologetically. "Is there any way I can see him before the procedure starts?" Misato asked Ritsuko.

"No. We currently have him sedated, and the skin graft is being prepared as I speak. He needs to stay under until the operation has been completed, otherwise... waking him up before he's healed will just cause him to suffer," Ritsuko replied.

"But... how long will the procedure take to complete?" Misato asked her.

"At least twelve hours or more, and that includes time afterwards for the body to accept the new skin. He'll need to remain immobile for several hours after the graft in order for his new skin to settle into place," Ritsuko said with clinical detachment. "I'm sorry, Misato, but there's nothing further that you can do for him, except cook up a battle plan that keeps him out of the Angel's line of fire the next time he faces it," Ritsuko said.

Ritsuko then looked over at Rei, seeing her still in her plug suit. "Ayanami? Why haven't you gotten cleaned up and changed into something else yet?" Ritsuko asked the blue-haired girl.

"I wish to know if Shin-I mean,  _Airman Ikari_  will survive," Rei said. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at Rei's little slip-up.

"If you'd been listening to what I just told Misato, then  _yes_ , he'll survive. Unfortunately, he'll be out of commission for the remainder of the day and well into tomorrow," Ritsuko said. Rei silently nodded her head in affirmation.

"Thank you, Doctor Akagi," Rei said softly. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You're... welcome," Ritsuko replied.

* * *

**NERV HQ Tactical Operations Center, AKA The War Room, Two Hours Later...**

Standing inside a large room with multiple monitors and a large screen-table, Misato Katsuragi and the rest of the bridge crew looked at a large screen on a wall. "And that's when it took out the last drone," Aoba said as the screen went to static, just before replaying the footage again from the beginning.

"So, from what data we've been able to collect, we've determined that this Angel's A.T. Field is the strongest we've seen yet, and its range with that beam is... just too damn long," Misato said with a frown.

"According to calculations made by the MAGI, the Angel's A.T. Field is powerful enough that the energy needed to penetrate it must be a  _minimum_  of one hundred and eighty  _million_  kilowatts," Hyuga said solemnly.

"Where the hell are we gonna get a gun that powerful?" Aoba asked him.

"Hey, don't look at me," Hyuga replied with a shrug. Meanwhile, Misato raised an eyebrow at Aoba's words, her mind racing as she tried to remember something important she had read about a few months earlier. She was broken out of her thoughts when Maya spoke up.

"It was also able to detect Unit One almost immediately after it reached the surface, and it managed to deduce its location with pin-point accuracy," Maya said as she analyzed the data from the battle.

"That means there's no way we can send the Evas up through the city's deployment shafts again. It'll just cut them down as soon as they reach the top," Aoba stated. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"Do we have any deployment shafts that open up  _outside_  of Tokyo-3?" Aoba asked his co-workers.

"Well, I think there are a few that lead to some abandoned fields a few kilometers outside the city, but we'd have to run a maintenance test to make sure that they're still in good shape. We haven't used them since their initial construction," Maya said.

"All right, do we know of  _any_  weak spots on the Angel?" Misato asked as she looked around the room. A few other technicians were standing by some computer terminals, while Gendo and Fuyutsuki stood silently in a corner. Misato hadn't even noticed them when she'd arrived until Gendo had spoken her name, and that had been nearly an hour ago.

"Unfortunately, we don't have much data to go on regarding the strength of the Angel's physical body. According to the MAGI's calculations, the Angel's core is located directly in the center of its body. Because we haven't been able to penetrate its AT Field, we have no way of knowing just how tough its actual body is, meaning that its hidden core is the only part of it that we can positively identify as a weak spot," Maya reported.

"Well, what about that drill it deployed a couple hours ago? Is that a potential weak spot?" Misato asked as she looked at the footage of the drill descending from the bottom of the Angel into the Geofront.

"We can't get close enough to find out," Hyuga said, shaking his head.

"Okay, now just how quickly is that drill penetrating the Geofront? How long do we have until it breaches the final layer and reaches us?" Misato asked. Hyuga pulled up a screen showing the layers of the Geofront with an image of a drill going through them.

"Going by the current rate of the drill's penetration, the MAGI have estimated that we have thirty-six hours until it breaches the final layer of the Geofront," Hyuga said.

"Thirty-six hours... damn," Aoba muttered as he looked at the screen.

"That's enough time for us to put a plan together," Misato said. "Let's get started."

**One Hour Later...**

"And from that distance, it shouldn't be able to detect them until after they've commenced the attack," Misato said as she pointed to a spot on a map.

"But where do we get a weapon that can penetrate the A.T. Field from that distance? None of the designated weapons for the Evas have that kind of penetration, let alone the range," Hyuga pointed out.

"No, but there is something that the boys in R and D have been working on with the Self Defense Force for the past year," Misato replied with a grin.

"Um... is this above our pay grade?" Aoba asked carefully.

"No. At least, not anymore it isn't," Misato replied.

"Uh-huh. So, just what have the military been cooking up with our lab monkeys?" Aoba asked her. Maya shot a glare at Aoba for his use of the term 'lab monkey'.

 _How dare he!? That is OUR word! Our word_ , Maya thought angrily to herself, before she was shaken from her brief stupor by Misato's voice.

"A large-scale positron sniper rifle," Misato stated.

"A large-scale...  _positron_  sniper rifle?" Hyuga asked her, sharing a glance with Aoba.

"That's right. It'll fire a specialized projectile with all of the energy needed to penetrate the Angel's A.T. Field," Misato said confidently.

"Um... are you  _sure_?" Aoba asked her. "Positive," Misato replied with a smirk as she pulled up the files and blueprints for the weapon on a screen.

"Okay, but how does this thing generate enough power for the bullet? This thing is basically a giant rail-gun. Where does it get the necessary electrical power for its rail system?" Hyuga asked Misato.

"We'll be getting it... from the national power grid," Misato said. Everyone's jaws dropped in response.

Maya raised a hand. "The... just a portion of the grid, or-" " _All_   _of it_ ," Misato said, cutting Maya off.

"The weapon can generate the power needed to propel the projectile with the required energy, but it needs to be charged first, and to build up the necessary charge, we'll need  _ALL_  of Japan's electricity. The country can go one night without electricity in exchange for its continued existence," Misato said firmly.

"Well... let's hope the Japanese government can see it that way, because if not, then I think we're gonna be in for quite the diplomatic negotiation," Aoba said with a sigh.

* * *

**Various Locations as Operation Yashima Begins... Montage Style**

Inside NERV HQ, Misato shows Gendo her plan. Gendo says nothing and simply nods his head until Misato goes away. He then sighs in relief at her absence.

Rei uses Unit 00, wearing a large and bulky external battery pack, to help place several pieces of pipe on the ground running up a mountain side, leading to the location where the positron sniper rifle will be stationed, as construction workers help fill the pipes with electrical cables.

Inside NERV HQ, technicians begin replacing Unit 01's burnt and scalded armor.

Ritsuko puts on a pair of safety goggles as she and Misato walk over to a large factory room where the rifle is being completed. Sparks fly as machinery and tools do their job. Misato smiles at the sight of the nearly-completed weapon.

Civilians in shelters, including Toji and Kensuke, watch the limited news coverage of the operation unfolding above ground.

Maya and the other Bridge personnel begin moving their gear to a portable Field Command Center situated near the side of the mountain where the positron sniper rifle will be stationed.

Numerous hospital staff begin setting up backup generators for their facilities, ready to switch them on when given the notice.

Several dozen tanks and missile launchers make their way up a trail along the side of the mountain, looking out over a lake. The tanks and missile launchers position themselves in specific locations going up the mountain, with overlapping fields of fire. Every tank operator gulps as they wonder how far outside the Angel's range they truly are.

JSSDF attack helicopters and VTOLs are fueled and armed before they take off from their base in preparation for the next day's planned assault.

* * *

**NERV Medical Wing, Tuesday Afternoon, July 29, 2042**

Shinji Ikari slowly opened his eyes. Above him was a familiar ceiling. "Again?" he asked himself as he looked around the room, soon noticing Rei sitting in a chair next to his bed. She was slouched in the chair, clearly sleeping. "R-Rei?" Shinji asked slowly. "Rei?" he asked again, seeing her start to stir.

He tried moving his arm, only to hiss at the discomfort of his skin stretching. "Ah! What the- _oh. Oh_ ," Shinji whispered in horror as the memory of his battle against the Angel resurfaced.  _I... I was... b-boiled alive_ , he thought with a shudder, bringing both of his arms around opposite shoulders to carefully hold himself as he began to cry.

Meanwhile, Rei had begun to wake up, soon hearing the sound of Shinji's shuddering as he cried in his bed. "Sh-Shinji? Shinji... you're awake," Rei said as she stood up and walked over to the intercom set on the wall. "Yes, please inform Doctor Akagi and Captain Katsuragi that Shinji Ikari is awake. Thank you," Rei said into the receiver before she made her way over to the bed. "Shinji, what's wrong?" she asked him as she leaned forward. "Shinji?" Rei asked him again.

Shinji looked up at Rei with tears streaming down his face. "I... Rei, I... I can still  _feel it_ ," he replied tearfully. "Th-The burning sensation. The LCL b-boiling around me... I-I can still  _feel it_. I remember it!" Shinji replied with a shudder.

"Shinji, you are no longer in the Eva. You are in a NERV medical facility," Rei said softly. Shinji looked at her, and then back down to his hands as he moved them away from his shoulders and held them up to his face for inspection.

"Wait a minute... why does my skin feel so weird?" Shinji asked.

"Shinji, you received a skin graft following your resuscitation," Rei explained. Shinji looked at her with wide eyes.

"So... I... I actually  _died_  in there... just like Mom," Shinji said with a dry, humorless chuckle. Rei raised an eyebrow at him.

"Your mother?" Rei asked him. Shinji looked back at her face and nodded his head.

"When I was five years old, my mother and father brought me here to the labs. My mother... she died inside the Eva during an experiment. When my father opened the hatch to the entry plug... there was nothing but orange goo... LCL," Shinji explained.

Rei slowly nodded her head as Shinji explained the story of his mother's death to her. "Less than a month after her death, my father... sent me away to live with my uncle and his family. I had forgotten about what happened while living with my uncle... until I was called back here during the Third Angel's attack," Shinji said.

"When I finally saw the Eva in the holding cage, it brought all of those memories back to the surface. My mother, Doctor Akagi and her mother, I think, and my father when he still cared about me," Shinji said. Rei nodded her head in understanding. In the time that she had been living with Shinji and Misato, the topic of Shinji's mother had rarely come up. It was only during the second week of co-habitation that Shinji had explained how his father had abandoned him shortly after his mother had died, following a brief incident where Shinji had insulted the Commander, infuriating Rei to such a degree that she had been prepared to slap Shinji until he had given her said explanation. After calming down, Rei had made a note to avoid bringing up the sensitive topic of Shinji's mother.

But now, Shinji had just explained the much greater picture to her. "You wanted to know why I hated my father so much, right?" Shinji asked her as he looked her in the eyes. "It's why I refused to get in the Eva when I first arrived. All I could think about was seeing my Mother disappear from my life forever after being turned into that goo," Shinji said. "And how right when I needed my father the most, he tossed me away, only calling me one other time to see me, when we went to visit my mother's grave. Boy, did that meeting end in disaster," Shinji said softly.

"I see," Rei said, looking away from Shinji as she processed this new information about the man she had been raised to obey and respect her entire life.

"And now... while I was being retrieved from the Eva, did my father ever once ask about me?" Shinji asked Rei. Rei glanced down at the floor.

"Not to my personal knowledge," Rei replied carefully.

Soon, the doors to the room slid open, and Misato and Ritsuko walked inside. "Shinji, you're awake!" Misato said joyously as she ran over to the boy and engulfed him in a hug.

"Aack!" Shinji cried out as his new skin felt the impact of another person for the first time. "It still hurts," Shinji whimpered.

Misato pulled back with a worried look on her face. "I-I'm so sorry, Shinji," Misato said. "Rits, you said that his skin graft would have settled in by now," Misato snapped as she turned to glare at the faux blonde.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean it isn't still very sensitive," Ritsuko replied.

"Will it be desensitized enough for him to wear a plug suit tonight?" Misato asked her.

Shinji's eyes widened. "Wait, what? You're... you're sending me  _back_  out there!?" he asked in fright, the memory of being boiled alive still at the forefront of his thoughts.

"Don't worry, you'll be fighting from a distance with a specialized set of weaponry," Misato said in response.

"What!?" Shinji shot back. "I-I can't get back in the Eva! Not after  _that!_  No! No fucking way!" Shinji spat. "I  _died_  in there, Misato, and you want me to just get back in there!? Have you lost your mind!?" Shinji asked her.

Misato raised an eyebrow at Shinji. "Shinji, you'll be fighting from a distance. It won't detect you until its too late for it to retaliate," Misato said.

"Oh no. No way! It's not happening! After what I went through? Uh-uh! Count me  _out!_ " Shinji snapped.

Rei narrowed her eyes at Shinji as he continued whining.

"Shinji, listen to me! I have a plan to stop the Angel, but it requires  _both_  Evangelion units to ensure its success. With only one of you... we can't guarantee that we'll be able to stop the Angel," Misato retorted.

"Then why don't  _you_  get in the Eva!? Huh!? Why don't you let the Angel boil  _you_  alive so you can see how it feels!?" Shinji snapped at her.

"I would if I  _could!_ " Misato snapped back, Shinji's not-entirely-unjustified whining taking its toll on her.

"Then do it!" Shinji shot back at her. "I don't wanna get back in there! I died in that thing, just like my mother did! Just like I was afraid would happen!" Shinji continued.

Rei felt her left hand clench into a fist and then unclench.

"Dammit, Shinji, listen! I have a plan to defeat the Angel, and I  _need_   _you_  to help pull it off! You and Rei are the only ones who can do it!" Misato said as she reigned in her anger.

"Like hell we are! Do you have  _any_  idea how it feels to go through what I've gone through!?" Shinji asked her. "You're not me! You have  _no idea_  what it feels like!" Shinji continued.

Misato stepped forward. "So fucking what if I'm not you!? You think that makes it okay for you to run away!?" Misato yelled. "Yes, I'm the one who keeps sending you out there, and  _yes_ , my orders often result in you getting hurt, and it kills me every time. Do you think I like it any more than  _you_  do!? Every time I send you out there, I feel a part of me dying inside, knowing that I'm sending a  _child_  to do my dirty work, but I have no other choice, Shinji," Misato said, breathing heavily.

"I've made  _tons_  of bad decisions in my life, Shinji. My whole  _life_  is a conga line of bad decisions and mistakes that I constantly make again and again. I keep telling myself that the next time it'll be different, and then I go right back to making the same mistakes over and over again. I have done this hundreds of times, and I have regretted every single one of them. But do you know the one decision I've made that I don't regret? It was meeting  _you_ , Shinji," Misato continued.

"My decision to pick you up and bring you here, because I hoped, deep down, that you could make a difference. That you could help  _me_  make a difference. And now... I'm starting to wonder if that was a mistake too," Misato said, her voice starting to choke up.

"Maybe you're right," Shinji said, looking Misato in the eyes. "Maybe bringing me here  _was_  a mistake. I never wanted to do this. And since doing this has actually  _killed me_ , I'm never doing it again. I'm sorry, but you'll need to find a new pilot for the Eva, 'cause I'm just not doing in anymore," Shinji said. He then turned to look at Rei. "Rei, I'm-"  _ **SLAP!**_

For a moment, the entire room went completely silent.

Shinji stared wide-eyed in shock as he brought his hand up to his cheek. Misato, Ritsuko, and Shinji all looked over at Rei, seeing her staring coldly at the boy. "R-Rei?" Ritsuko asked in shock.

"Shinji Ikari, you know full well that we are the only ones able to pilot the Evangelions. You are a member of the Evangelion Pilot Corps, just as I am. I have been injured numerous times and in numerous ways while operating both Evangelion units, often suffering life-threatening injuries that have caused me to experience such pain that I often wished I no longer existed, and yet I have not run away. I have a duty to perform, as do you," Rei said in a manner very reminiscent of Shinji's father.

"But... I  _died_  in there, just like my mother!" Shinji replied.

"Yes, and you are now running away from your responsibilities... just like your  _father_ ," Rei said sharply with narrowed eyes, having reluctantly come to accept the truth behind Gendo and Shinji's strained relationship. Practically everyone's eyes widened at hearing Rei's statement.

"I... w-what?" Shinji asked her in disbelief.

"You claim that your father abandoned you when you needed him the most after your mother died inside the Eva. After experiencing your own death in the Eva,  _you_  are now preparing to abandon everyone here when they need you the most, just as your father did to you," Rei continued. "However, unlike your father's abandonment of you, your abandonment of us could potentially cost the human race its very existence," Rei continued, her gaze boring deep into Shinji's soul.

"But... if I get back in the Eva, I could die again," Shinji retorted weakly.

"Yes, you could die once again if you face the Angel a second time. But if you do not pilot the Eva, then  _everyone_  will die," Rei said in response. Shinji looked up at her with a frown as he processed her words.

"How do you know?" he asked her.

Rei turned to look at Misato and Ritsuko. "Doctor Akagi, how long until Shinji can be discharged from this facility?" Rei asked her. Ritsuko, having been in a state of shock following Rei's statements about the Commander shattering her perception of the girl, blinked rapidly as she came to her senses.

"Oh, um... in a few hours," Ritsuko replied.

"I shall be waiting in Terminal Dogma. If we are to help Shinji fully understand the gravity of this situation, then he must be given all of the relevant data," Rei said before she turned and walked out of the room. She paused only once to glance back at Shinji. "Shinji... if you truly despise your father for what he has done to you, then you should also despise  _yourself_  for making the same decisions as him," Rei said pointedly. She then left the room.

Ritsuko looked back over at Shinji. "Your new skin will be less sensitive to touch in a few more hours. After that, you'll be discharged and ready to pilot again. Please, Shinji... we're counting on you," Ritsuko said, just before she handed a key card to Misato.

"Huh?" Misato asked her.

"You aren't ranked high enough to receive proper clearance for Terminal Dogma, despite your knowledge on its contents. I doubt Rei will wait long enough for you enter the chamber alongside her, so take this. I'll be busy overseeing the final stages of construction for Unit Zero's heat shield," Ritsuko said before walking away. Misato looked at the key card in her hand.

Misato then looked over at Shinji, who had become morose as he slumped against the banister of the bed. "Misato... is there really no other option?" Shinji asked her pleadingly. Misato looked at him, tired and worn out from arguing with him earlier.

"No, Shinji. There isn't. After I pick you up from here, I'll take you to Terminal Dogma to explain why," Misato said before walking out of the room, leaving Shinji alone with his thoughts.

"If I run away... I'll be like Dad, huh? But if I get back in the Eva... I could die again," Shinji remarked as he stared up at the ceiling. "I hate my life."

* * *

**En Route To Terminal Dogma, Four Hours Later...**

Sitting in the side seat of Misato's car, Shinji looked around at the dark and foreboding interior of the large chamber around them. The bridge they were driving over spanned the entire length of an enormous room, filled with tubes and what looked like giant vats containing who knew what. Pipes connected various vats and tubes to one another throughout the chamber, with various colored stripes adorning each one with identification numbers. "Where are we?" Shinji asked Misato as he looked around.

"We're in the processing section of the LCL production facility. As soon as we reach this door, we'll be arriving at the next security block, and then we can enter the holding room," Misato said.

"The holding room? Holding room for what, exactly?" Shinji asked her. He was currently wearing his plug suit, having been given it by Misato shortly after being picked up by her in the NERV medical wing.

"Shinji... remember when I told you about Adam?" Misato asked him.

"Yeah. It was the First Angel," Shinji replied.

"And you know how the Angel you fought when you arrived was designated as the  _Third_  Angel?" Misato asked him.

"Yeah... wait a minute. Misato... are you saying there's an  _Angel_  in NERV's basement?" Shinji asked her in alarm.

"Yes, Shinji. The Second Angel,  _Lilith_ ," Misato explained.

"Lilith? So, where was this Angel discovered?" Shinji asked Misato.

"Here, in the Geofront. The entire cave system was a hollow tomb holding the Angel before Tokyo Three was constructed over it. That's why the Angels have all been coming  _here_ , Shinji. It's time for you to learn just what exactly is at stake," Misato said as she drove up to a large door at the end of the room.

Lowering her window and holding out the key card, Misato slid it into a slot and pulled it back out after the red lights turned green and the door opened, allowing her to drive the car into the next room. As the door behind them sealed itself shut, Misato parked the car and motioned for Shinji to do the same, before she shut off the engine and pocketed her keys. "Follow me," Misato said as she led Shinji to an elevator nearby. Stepping into the elevator, Shinji and Misato began to ascend, turning in a cylindrical fashion, until the door opened and the two of them stepped out onto a catwalk overlooking a large round chamber.

In the opposite end of the chamber was a large crucified white giant. There were dozens of tubes and pipes coming out of its back, disappearing into the wall behind it. On the giant's face was a large purple mask with seven eyes on it. "This, Shinji, is Lilith. She is the mother of all life on Earth, according to the properly translated texts that were found accompanying her," Misato said.

"Um...  _what!?_ " Shinji asked her in disbelief.

Standing nearby, on the other end of the catwalk, Rei glanced over in Shinji and Misato's direction. She began walking over to the duo.

"Lilith is the Angel who seeded this planet with life," Rei said. "All life on Earth is descended from Lilith," Rei explained further. "Numerous tests have been conducted to prove this, Shinji. Her genetic code is slightly amorphous in its structure, but it is compatible with every living being on this planet," Rei continued.

"So... we're descended from  _that?_ " Shinji asked as he pointed a finger at the Stay Puft Marshmallow Giant.

"Not just us, Shinji, but  _all_  life on Earth. Lilith's blood, which we call LCL, is what formed the primordial ooze from which life first spawned on this Earth," Rei explained.

"The LCL is Lilith's... so that's why it tastes like blood," Shinji said in disgust.

"Do you know how the Evangelions were created, Shinji?" Rei asked him.

"I... I never asked," Shinji replied as he glanced away from Lilith to look at Rei.

"They are cloned from the flesh of Angels. Unit One is cloned from Lilith, as are the twin units over at NERV Second Branch in Nevada. All other Evangelions are cloned from recovered samples of Adam. All Evangelion cores are derived from Lilith as well," Rei said.

"Shinji, do you know what will happen if an Angel descended from Adam makes contact and merges with Lilith?" Rei asked him.

"Uh... no," Shinji replied, still trying to wrap his head around everything he had just learned.

"Third Impact," Misato said solemnly. Shinji looked at her with a curious expression.

"Shinji, if any Angelic being other than an Evangelion derived from Lilith makes contact with her, then that Angel will merge with Lilith. When it merges, it will produce a new life form, one that will be completely unstoppable. It will wipe out all life on Earth as we know it and replace what it destroyed with new life, completely alien to us. Lilith-based life and Adam-based life, such as the Angels we fight, are incompatible with each other," Misato explained. "Our job isn't just to kill the Angels, Shinji. We have to protect Lilith and stop Third Impact. All it takes is one Angel making contact with her, just  _one_ , and that's it. All life on Earth will be extinct," Misato finished.

"Do you understand now, Shinji?" Rei asked him. "Misato-I mean, Captain Katsuragi's plan requires both of us to ensure its success. While there is still a chance of failure, the chances of success are increased with two of us instead of just one, while the chances of  _failure_  are increased with only one of us partaking in the battle," Rei explained. "Know this, Shinji. If you choose to run away, then you are responsible for knowingly increasing the odds in the Angel's favor," Rei added.

"But... how do we kill the Angel?" Shinji asked.

"Captain Katsuragi will explain her plan to defeat Ramiel," Rei explained.

"Ramiel?" Shinji and Misato both asked simultaneously.

"That is the name given to this Angel in the ancient texts that accompanied Adam. These texts were recovered following Second Impact, and translated copies have been kept in NERV facilities around the world since that time," Rei explained. "The previous two Angels, the Third and Fourth, were named Sachiel and Shamshel, respectively," Rei added. "I was shown these texts by Commander Ikari himself," she added again after seeing the confused expressions on Shinji and Misato's faces.

"So... um, Misato? What exactly is your plan to defeat uh... Ramiel?" Shinji asked.

* * *

**The Eva Holding Cages, Thirty Minutes Later...**

Shinji looked over at Rei as she made her way over to a catwalk that connected to Unit 00's platform. "Hey, Rei?" Shinji asked her.

"Yes?" Rei asked as she turned around to look at Shinji.

"Do you really believe that we have a shot at stopping this thing?" Shinji asked her.

"It does not matter what I believe, Shinji. What matters is that I do what I can, because I must," Rei replied.

"Aren't you scared, though?" Shinji asked her, the memory of his first encounter with Ramiel still fresh in his memory.

"To a degree. It is possible that I may die, but if that happens, I can be replaced," Rei said simply. Shinji's mouth hung open in shock.

"What!? No you can't!" Shinji spat at her. "You can't be replaced!" Shinji shouted at Rei from where he stood. Rei raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, I can. I am not unique, Shinji. If I die, the Commander will simply replace me with a copy," Rei said.

"A... A  _copy?_  What the hell are you talking about?" Shinji asked her in shock.

"I am not the first being named Rei Ayanami to exist in this world, Shinji. I will not be the last, either," Rei said.  _He may not have clearance for this information, but I have already forced him to see Lilith. And since he has technically died once, I believe that the rules can be... interpreted in a unique way, as Captain Katsuragi sometimes states_ , Rei thought to herself.

"Wait, are you saying... that you're a  _clone_?" Shinji asked her. Rei nodded her head.

"Yes, Shinji. I am a clone of the original Rei Ayanami, a girl who died at a very young age. I have other clones waiting to be activated in the event of my death as well," Rei stated.  _Technically, I am a partial clone of both the original Rei Ayanami and Lilith, but THAT bit of information is definitely above the clearance level of Shinji and anyone else, aside from the Commander, Vice Commander, and Doctor Akagi. Commander Ikari has made that explicitly clear to me_ , Rei thought to herself quietly.

"That is why I am replaceable. If I die, another Ayanami will take my place, and she dies, another will take  _her_  place. This way, there will always be a pilot for Unit Zero or Unit One in the event of an emergency," Rei said callously.

 _So then what was all that bullshit about me accepting my responsibilities despite being afraid, if she thinks her own life doesn't matter? Does she think that I can be replaced as well? Is that it? Doesn't she care at ALL about her own life?_ Shinji began marching over to Rei, anger boiling in his veins as she continued speaking.

"So, if I die, do not grieve for me, Shinji. I cannot guarantee that my memories will be transferred properly into the next clone's body when my soul transfers over to it, however. It all depends on if my cause of death leaves behind a body at all, but do know that I will still-"  _ **SLAP!**_

Rei stared at Shinji with wide eyes, before raising a hand up to feel the imprint of his hand on her left cheek.

"Sh-Shinji?" Rei asked him in shock.

"Don't you  _ever_...  _ever_  say that you can be replaced, Rei. I don't care if you're a clone. I don't care if you have a dozen clone bodies lined up in a closet somewhere in NERV's basement! I don't care if you think that your life is worthless because of that! It's not worthless, not to me! The Rei that I care about is the Rei standing in front of me right now!" Shinji stated firmly as he grabbed Rei by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"Maybe I've finally gone crazy from everything that's happened to me so far, Rei, but... dammit, I still care about my life, no matter how likely it is that I might die tonight or even tomorrow! And you should care about yours too! So what if you're a clone!? That doesn't mean you should just throw your life away!" Shinji shouted at her. "You're still unique, Rei, even if you don't believe it. If you die, I  _will_  grieve," Shinji said. "So, please, when we're out there... don't... don't get yourself killed," Shinji said.

"You're my friend, Rei, and I don't have many of those in this world," Shinji said softly. Deep in Rei's heart, something began to stir. Letting out a sigh, Rei nodded her head.

"Very well, Shinji. I will do my best to stay alive, but please know that if your life is in jeopardy, I will put mine on the line to preserve it. My role in this operation is to protect you, and I will do so to the very best of my ability," Rei said firmly, her voice having lost the soft whisper effect it normally had.

Shinji soon let go of Rei's shoulders. "Okay," Shinji said with a sigh of his own. "Just... remember that being a clone doesn't mean you have to throw your life away," Shinji said to her one last time as he turned around. Shinji then stopped one more time. "Oh, Rei?" Shinji asked, causing the blue-haired girl to turn around at look at him expectantly. "I... I'm sorry I struck you. I shouldn't have done that," Shinji said, looking Rei in the eyes.

Rei nodded her head. "And I apologize for striking you earlier as well. Please, do not do it again," Rei replied.

"I won't if you won't," Shinji replied.

Rei nodded her head. "Agreed," She said before turning around. Shinji and Rei then resumed their separate treks to their Evas, unaware of the figure watching them from the window box above them.

Inside the control box, Gendo frowned as he watched the two pilots enter their entry plugs, wondering if allowing Rei to live with Shinji and Captain Katsuragi had truly been a wise decision on his part.

* * *

**Three Hours Later, On a Mountainside on the Edge of Tokyo-3...**

Sitting in the entry plug of Unit 01, Shinji took a deep breath, inhaling a gulp of LCL.  _Great, now I can't stop thinking about what Rei told me. I'm sitting in processed Angel blood. That's just... disgusting_ , Shinji thought to himself as he looked through the scope of the positron sniper rifle. Evangelion Unit 01 was currently lying down on a large cement platform on a hill, with its head looking into the sights of the rifle as several cables ran between the weapon and the Eva's helmet, allowing it to retain its sights even when looking away.

Inside the Field Command Center, Misato and the rest of the bridge crew watched a large screen, with footage from hidden aerial drones, showing them the Angel in the city, and the Evangelions on the mountainside. Hyuga walked up to Misato. "Captain, the JSSDF report that they are ready and in position. They're just waiting for the word," Hyuga said to Misato, who looked back at the screen.

Stationed somewhere nearby, Unit 00 held a large heat shield, made from the hulls of scuttled space shuttles. " _Shinji, this is Lieutenant Ibuki. Is the rifle properly adjusted? You can set it to automatic mode if you're having any trouble, just press the blue button on the top of it_ ," Maya said over the com.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'm fine, though, thanks for asking," he replied. " _Look, Shinji, I know that things are a bit tense right now, but... we need you to focus. Please, this thing will breach the final layer of armor protecting the Geofront in the next twelve hours. The first wave of JSSDF forces will be initiating the first phase of the operation in T-Minus three minutes, as soon as the rifle has finished charging_ ," Maya replied.

Shinji looked at the timer on the side of his screen. The positron sniper rifle was almost fully charged. "Are you sure we can't just take out the Angel right now? I don't think it knows we're here," Shinji asked her. " _Negative. Unless the rifle is at one hundred percent charge, it won't carry the energy necessary to penetrate the Angel's A.T. Field_ ," Maya replied. "Well... can't I just neutralize it with my Eva's A.T. Field?" Shinji asked her in return.

" _Negative. Unit One can't safely produce an A.T. Field of that strength. If it could, we wouldn't be doing this right now_ ," Maya replied. "Dammit," Shinji muttered. "Alright. Well, Unit One, standing by until further notice," Shinji said over the com. Looking through the scope of the rifle, he soon saw all of the lights in Tokyo-3 begin blacking out. Soon, the entire city had been plunged into total darkness.

Eventually, the entire  _countryside_  was plunged into total darkness. Only the Field Command Center situated a kilometer behind Unit 01, down the slope of the mountain and hill, produced any visible light, thanks to its portable power generators. Unit 01 and Unit 00 both had their power cables attached, as NERV HQ used a separate power grid for everything inside of the Geofront, including the power cables attached to the Evangelions.

Inside the Field Command Center, Misato looked at a clock on the wall, before glancing over at Maya. "Ibuki, is the rifle fully charged yet?" Misato asked her. "Just a minute," Maya replied. "Shinji, this is Ibuki. Has the rifle reached a full charge yet?" she asked him. " _The rifle is fully charged_ ," Shinji replied over the com. "Captain, Airman Ikari reports that the rifle is now fully charged," Maya relayed to Misato. "Okay, begin the attack," Misato said. Hyuga and the other command personnel began issuing orders over their communication consoles.

Several miles ahead of the Evas, the JSSDF vehicles that were lined up along the mountain, overlooking the grand lake between them and Tokyo-3, raised their cannons. The missile launchers prepped themselves. And coming in the other side of the mountain, several attack helicopters and VTOLs made their way over to Tokyo-3.

" _Shinji, this is Lieutenant Ibuki again. The attack is commencing. Shinji, when the Angel is attacking the forces ahead of you, that is when its A.T. field will be lowered and it will be at its most vulnerable_ ," Maya said over the com. "Got it," Shinji said in affirmation, watching through the rifle's scope as tiny flashes of light in the distance highlighted the attack helicopters firing their weapons. The Angel's A.T. Field flashed orange with every hit, displaying its strength as the barrage continued.

The helicopters and VTOLs fired with every munition at their disposal, until Ramiel grew tired of their attack, and unleashed a series of short beam spurts into the air. Each flash caught a helicopter or VTOL with absolute precision, destroying each vehicle in a burst of fire and wreckage that fell through the air to the ground below. Soon, all sixty aerial vehicles had been destroyed by the Angel, who remained unharmed.

For several seconds, there was silence in the air following the destruction of the first wave. With the tank battalion outside of Ramiel's range of detection, it remained oblivious to their presence. And then, as if a switch had been flipped, that all changed.

The tank battalion soon opened fire, drawing the Angel's attention across the lake as each mortar round exploded harmlessly against the AT Field. The light produced by the tanks firing their cannons illuminated the mountainside around them and the lake below, which reflected the flashes of light in a dazzling display. Ramiel soon began charging up his main weapon, four triangular sections of his corner facing the mountain opening up, revealing a fleshy interior that began to glow.

 _Clever_ , Ramiel thought to himself.  _Very clever, but it will do you no good, spawn of Lilith, now that I know where you are_ , Ramiel thought as he slowly began moving towards the lake. He didn't stray too far from his original position, but he  _was_ forced to withdraw his drill temporarily while he dealt with this nuisance.

The missile launchers started their volley next, sending missile after missile at Ramiel, hitting his A.T. Field with no effect other than producing an orange glow. Soon, the launchers had depleted their stock, and the tank brigade began firing once more. It was then that Ramiel had finished charging his attack.

Ramiel's beam quickly cut through the air hitting the first tank with pin-point accuracy, destroying it and killing its occupants before moving on to the next vehicle. The tanks continued firing in a specific pattern, until the last tank, situated square in the middle of the formation, opened fire to reveal its position. Ramiel sent forth its beam once more, cutting into the tank and setting it ablaze.

Inside Unit 01, Shinji narrowed his eyes as the targeting reticle became red and flashed. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed with a grin as he fired the rifle, sending a charged round flying straight through the air. The projectile sailed forward with pin-point accuracy, cutting straight through Ramiel's AT Field, shattering it, before penetrating the fleshy interior of the Angel and passing through the other side.

"Did I get it?" Shinji asked out loud, seconds before the Angel let out an inhuman scream and shifted its shape, producing multiple spikes like a sea urchin made of glass, before reverting back to its original form. The Angel then began to glow, and its interior began to fume, before a bright light surged through the opening and a red, fiery hot beam cut through the air. The beam went in a wide horizontal arc, slicing through the side of the mountain and passing mere meters above Unit 01 as it began to curve downward, carving itself into the mountain.

Soon, the Angel began firing small cutting flashes into the air, all of which slashed into the ground around the Evas and the Field Command Center.

 _The Lilin have hurt me. The children of Lilith have struck back. I am the Angel of Thunder, and they shall know my displeasure_ , Ramiel thought to himself before he began opening more sections of armor along the length of his opened corner, a bright glow emitting from it as he charged up a powerful attack, sucking in air in the form of gale force winds. Anything in front of Ramiel that wasn't nailed to the ground was pulled along the path of the wind.

Back on the mountainside, Shinji could feel the trees and ground around Unit 01 beginning to move forward, as though they were being pulled. Looking up ahead, he saw a swirling vortex begin to appear around the opening of the Angel's main weapon. He then heard the screams over the com as the personnel from the Field Command Center were jostled around when the large box began being pulled along with the weaker trees and shrubbery of the mountainside by near hurricane-force winds as Ramiel began preparing to unleash a new attack.

"Misato!? Ibuki!? What's going on!?" Shinji asked, not being able to look behind the Eva. " _It's pulling us towards it!_ " Maya shouted in response.

Nearby, the Field Command Center was slowly dragged along the ground, slowly spinning in wide circles, as the locks meant to hold it in place came loose. Inside, the command personnel were panicking as they were sent falling out of their chairs and onto the floor, with Misato falling over a chair and pulling it down on top of herself by accident. Hyuga found himself unable to stand up as the command outpost was violently pulled along the ground, soon finding himself being thrown onto Misato, just after she'd managed to throw the chair off. "S-Sorry!" he apologized, just before something fell down from the ceiling and hit his head. "Ow!"

Inside Unit 00, Rei watched in bile fascination as Ramiel sucked everything towards it. "Airman Ikari, how long must we wait until the rifle is charged again?" Rei asked over the com. " _Another three minutes! Rei, can you grab the command outpost!? The command crew are still inside, but if they leave it, they'll get sucked into the air,_ " Shinji requested in response.

Rei saw the command outpost being pulled towards the edge of the mountainside, the pull on it growing stronger as it got closer. Nodding her head, Rei moved Unit 00 out into the open, holding the shield in one arm as it stepped down in front of the field command center. She reached down and gently grabbed the command outpost before lifting it up and setting it back down farther back towards the tree line.

 _THERE! Lilith's chosen! Wait, no! That is... Father!? It cannot be! The children of Lilith... have desecrated him with this... abomination! Abomination! ABOMINATION! Your existence will end now_ , Ramiel thought darkly as he finished charging up his attack. The air became still for a moment... and then a rush of heat so intense as to melt everything around it came surging forth, burning with such an intensity that it appeared as though the fires of hell themselves had been released.

The raging beam roared through the air, hitting the mountainside and blowing it away, blackening the soil beneath it and turning it to glass.

"Oh my god!" Maya cried out as she read the data on the scanners. "That beam! It'll vaporize us if it hits us!" she shouted fearfully, just before Unit 00 stepped over the prone Unit 01 and held up its shield. Rei then deployed Unit 00's AT Field as the beam came closer, hitting the AT Field with such force as to actually shatter it before curving itself down to where Unit 01 was lying.

"Rei! It's gonna-huh?" Shinji asked as he saw something dark in front of Unit 01 and above the barrel of the rifle. "R-Rei!?" Shinji cried out as he saw the intense light around the figure in front of him.

" _Shinji! How long until the rifle is charged!?_ " Rei asked him, her voice full of worry and concern.

00:01:30 SECONDS.

"Ninety seconds!" Shinji replied over the com. " _The shield is starting to buckle! I do not know how much longer it will last!_ " Rei shouted over the com. Shinjii had never heard Rei shout before. "Just hold on a little longer!" Shinji shouted back as some the shield's bottom began to give way, allowing the intense heat to begin washing over Unit 01. Shinji was about to move, until he remembered that the Field Command Center was behind him.

00:01:15 SECONDS

If he moved... then Misato and the others would be killed on the spot. Despite the intensity of the heat, Shinji forced himself to keep the Eva where it was. "Not this time," Shinji muttered through gritted teeth as he felt the LCL begin to warm up around him. "This time... you  _die_ ," Shinji muttered as he looked at Ramiel through the scope of the rifle.

00:01:00 SECONDS

Shinji let out a pained groan as the temperature of the LCL rose. Memories of his first encounter rose to his mind, causing him to panic. He forced those away and focused on his present task again.

00:00:56 SECONDS

The heat-resistant layers of Unit 00's shield began to chip away, and the Eva found itself being pushed back ever so slightly.

00:00:45 SECONDS

"Just a little more," Shinji muttered, keeping his gaze focused on the targeting reticle around Ramiel's form. The LCL continued heating up around him.

00:00:35 SECONDS

" _Shinji! The Shield is failing! It won't last much longer!_ " Rei shouted over the com. "Just hold on as long as you can! The rifle is almost charged!" Shinji replied over the com.

00:00:30 SECONDS

Shinji let out a cry of pain as the LCL began to reach unbearable levels of heat around him. "F-Focus, Shinji! Focus!" Shinji growled to himself as he tried to ignore the heat.

00:00:25 SECONDS

The final layer of the shield began to melt away as the intense heat of Ramiel's beam cut into it.  _No_ , Rei thought to herself,  _just a little longer!_

00:00:20 SECONDS

" _Shinji! I can't hold it any longer! The shield is-AAAAAAAAAAhhh!_ " Rei cried out over the com as the shield finally gave way, letting Unit 00 take the brunt of the blast. Unit 00 quickly re-deployed its AT Field, only for the beam to shatter it in milliseconds. Unit 00 was pushed back, falling down behind Unit 01 and in front of the Field Command Center, a motion Rei commanded to her Eva just before losing consciousness in the entry plug.

"Rei!" Shinji cried out in worry. He then re-focused his attention on Ramiel as the entirety of the blast was now concentrated on  _him_. The pain was intense, and Shinji felt as though he was going to black out. "N-No... p-pain... n-no... g-gain!" Shinji said through gritted teeth as the temperature of the LCL continued nearing its boiling point.

00:00:10 SECONDS

"FUCK! You bastard!" Shinji cried out in anguish as he felt the temperature rising too quickly. "Heraaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!" Shinji screamed in anguish as the LCL began to boil around him.

00:00:01 SECONDS

 _Your end comes now, children of Lilith_ , Ramiel thought, just before he found himself letting up his barrage. He had exhausted his energy reserves in the attack, and the intensity of the blast had caused some minor damage to his surrounding armor. Looking out over the lake, Ramiel saw the blackened form of the Abomination on the ground, just behind the darkened form of the beast he had encountered the other day.

 _Victory... is mine_.

Meanwhile, inside Unit 01, Shinji let out a sigh as the temperature of the LCL began to lower, his Eva's internal environmental controls kicking back into high gear. Standing Unit 01 up while holding the rifle, Shinji narrowed his eyes at the octahedron floating in the air above Tokyo-3. The targeting reticle remained blue as he moved the rifle around, the automated aiming assist button having been damaged by Ramiels's attack. "Come on, come on," Shinji muttered, just before the reticle flashed red.

" _Payback time_ ," Shinji spat before he pulled the trigger. A thunderous boom was heard as the positron sniper rifle fired its projectile through the air, a dazzling line of white light following the large bullet as it flew straight and true, right into the center of Ramiel, hitting his core. " _Yes!_ " Shinji hissed triumphantly as a fountain of blood soon exploded from Ramiel's opened weapon port, flooding the ground around it.

"I got you... you son of a bitch," Shinji muttered as he inhaled through the warm LCL. He watched gleefully as the octahedron fell to the ground, its glass armor losing its shine and becoming dull. Still reflective, but dull and mildly opaque. Commanding Unit 01 to place the rifle on the ground, Shinji then moved the Eva over to Unit 00, carefully picking it up in both arms.

"Rei? Rei, can you hear me?" Shinji asked fearfully. "Rei? Please respond," Shinji asked again. There was no response. "R-Rei? Rei! Rei!" Shinji cried out in panic as he dragged the damaged Eva down to the lake shore and carefully set it down on the bank. He then reached for a manual eject handle located under the entry plug's socket, releasing the entry plug from its home.

Shinji carefully set the entry plug down, right-side up, before grabbing an Eva-sized handful of water from the late and gently letting it drip down onto the plug. Parts of the plug began to buckle from the rapid shift in temperature, while steam rose from the metal. Shinji soon, entered a command code for his Eva and exited his own entry plug. Quickly climbing down the unfolded ladder, Shinji hissed every time he accidentally touched a heated portion of his Eva's armor, until he finally reached the bottom.

Dropping down onto the sandy shore, Shinji ran over to Rei's entry plug, grabbing the hatch wheel with both hands, only to pull away and cry out in pain from the heat. "Shit!" Shinji swore before forcing himself to grab the handle again, screaming in pain as he turned it, eventually, opening the plug. "R-Rei! Rei, please! Speak to me, dammit! Rei!" Shinji cried out, before he saw Rei slumped over in her pilot seat.

Stepping into the entry plug, Shinji rushed over to Rei's limp form, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Rei!? Rei, come on! Please, wake up!" Shinji begged before he placed a hand against her throat, checking for a pulse.

He couldn't feel anything through the gloves of the plug suit. "No. No, no!" Shinji cried before he pulled Rei into a hug. Then he felt it. The slight inhale and exhale from her nostrils against his neck. " _Rei_ ," Shinji whispered softly in relief.

Rei groaned softly as she started to regain consciousness. "W-What?" she asked tiredly. She felt a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her. Glancing out of her peripheral vision, Rei saw Shinji's brown hair fill her view. "Sh-Shinji?" Rei asked softly, prompting him to gasp as he pulled away, his face wet from tears.

Shinji and Rei looked at each other for a moment, both completely silent. Shinji wiped the tears from his eyes. "You... you really had me scared for bit there," he said, choking on his words.

"I am... I don't... I'm sorry for making you worry," Rei said, glancing down at her feet.

"It's... it's okay. You're alive," Shinji said before he pulled her into another hug. "And that's what matters," he added. Rei felt a lump forming in her throat as she tried to speak, but nothing would come out. She simply wrapped her arms around Shinji and hugged him back, closing her eyes as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered gratefully into his ear.

"Any time," Shinji whispered in return as he and Rei remained locked in their embrace.

 _Thank you, Shinji_ , Rei thought to herself.  _Thank you... for caring_.

* * *

**Hours Later, Ritsuko Akagi's Apartment, Tokyo-3...**

The power to Tokyo-3 and the rest of Japan had been restored shortly after the death of Ramiel, but Ritsuko had kept the lights in her apartment turned off anyway. Looking out the window of her bedroom, Ritsuko sighed, before pulling her sleeping gown close over her otherwise exposed body. Looking back at the sleeping form of Gendo Ikari, who was naked under the covers of her bed, Ritsuko let out another sigh.

"She's growing up, you know?" Ritsuko said softly as she walked over to a mirror. Holding it up, she looked at her face. "Pretty soon... I think she'll start to figure out the truth, though. Once she truly learns how to ask the obvious questions. And maybe... you will too," Ritsuko said as she focused her attention on the mole under her left eye. She set down the mirror and looked back over at Gendo as he shifted slightly under the covers.

Ritsuko walked back over to the bed before slipping out of her sleeping gown and pulling up the other side of the covers. "You should tell your son that you're proud of him for what he did, Gendo," Ritsuko said softly as she looked over at Gendo's sleeping face. "He really did save us all this time. You should at least say something to him for that alone, especially considering what he went through earlier," Ritsuko said.

"If you can admit your love for your son one of these days, then maybe... maybe you can... well, one step at a time, I guess," Ritsuko said softly before she allowed herself to drift to sleep, dreaming of hearing three powerful words from the man sleeping next to her. She knew that it was a long shot, but her hope had been renewed on Sunday night, after Gendo had called out  _her_  name instead of Yui's. Gendo certainly didn't remember it, and Ritsuko sure as hell wouldn't tell him, lest he think she was lying, but she'd heard him say it.

Just hearing him say her name at all during their sessions was enough to give Ritsuko hope that maybe, just maybe, she could change Gendo's mind. Maybe he could love her back. Maybe... she could convince him to let go of his scenario.

* * *

**ENDING THEME: Everything You've Ever Dreamed (Performed by ARIANNE)**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Asuka Langley Sohryu, Mari Illustrious Makinami, and Ryoji "Alleged Ladies Man" Kaji depart from Germany for Tokyo-3, escorted by the U.N. Fleet. Unfortunately, their high seas voyage faces danger when the Sixth Angel, Gaghiel, attacks them! With only a few weapons at their disposal, Asuka and Mari must use brains over brawn in order to defeat this leviathan before they, and their Evas, become its next meal.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: And it's finished! Chapter Five is finally done! I hope everyone reading this enjoyed the episode, and I certainly hope that you all read it while listening to the recommended music selection.
> 
> Anyway, the next episode will focus entirely on Asuka and Mari, with Shinji and the others remaining in Japan. That's right, no Shinji in Unit 02's entry plug this time! Instead, we get a less insecure Asuka, and a bubbly but annoying Mari. We also get a more beleaguered Kaji, worn down by having to take care of two teenage girls instead of one, from the age of five due their families being either dead or neglectful. That's right, you guys are gonna get a Kaji who shares a fatherly relationship with Asuka, instead of that... whatever it was in the original TV series.
> 
> Also, yes, Asuka still retains her horrific backstory from NGE, at least in regards to what happened to her mother. However, and i will spoil this right now, Asuka is less insecure and more emotionally and mentally stable in this retelling because she's grown up alongside Mari, who is also raised by Kaji following the death of both of her parents. Because Asuka now has someone to talk to, who also is going through the same circumstances as her, our German fire-crotch is now much more tempered and less dependent on praise from others, and she also knows how to play nice with others. She has genuine self respect, self confidence, and self esteem, all thanks to growing up alongside another pilot who she could confide in, and vice versa! Oh, she'll still have a temper, but nothing like her NGE counterpart. She'll be... more like Shikinami from Rebuild. Well, Rebuild 2.0, anyway. I hated every character in 3.0 except for Mari, Sakura, Kaworu, and Shinji. Well, I didn't really like Shinji, but I did genuinely feel sorry for the kid this time around, unlike in NGE and End, where I just wanted to strangle him.
> 
> So, back to this episode. I hope you guys don't take too much issue with Ramiel being described as having a fleshy interior contrasting his shiny glass-like outer armor. I wanted to make him feel a bit different from other versions of the Angel. Also, as you may have noticed, Ramiel is the first Angel to receive any thoughts of his own in this story. Only a select few Angels will receive this kind of treatment, however.
> 
> Also, as you've noticed, Rei is starting to change as a person. Being forced to face the reality that Gendo is not who she idolized is causing her to question her purpose in life, and Gendo's intentions for her. In a very human way, Rei will deal with these issues by... trying to ignore them and not think about them until they are finally thrown into her face later on.
> 
> Also, while this is is technically a Shinji x Rei story, the romance stuff won't be happening for several more episodes. It has to build up first.
> 
> Also, in regards to Rei's admission of being a clone to Shinji, at least this early in the story... why not? And, again, Rei is unaware of her true human DNA donor, and she genuinely believes that the original Rei Ayanami, or Rei I, was a normal human girl who died at a very young age, which is a lie that Gendo, Fuyutsuki, and Ritsuko have told come up with in order to keep even Rei herself in the dark about certain things. I hope that clarifies some things.
> 
> On another note, this episode was brought to you by the Bright Slap, turning whiny, angsty teenagers into hardened soldiers since 1979! Thank you, Bright Noa!
> 
> Lastly, if you paid attention to the final passage with Ritsuko and Gendo, you'll notice that I made no mention of Ritsuko having cats. This is an intentional call back to Episode 3, where I had Misato question whether Ritsuko actually owned any cats.
> 
> Also, I must apologize for my use of the words "naked" and "Gendo" in the same sentence. I know that these words together must conjure up some horrifying mental images, and for that, I am truly sorry. However, as I do intend to give people nightmares with some of the things in this story, well...
> 
> And to anyone who is okay with Rei slapping Shinji, but seething when Shinji returns the favor... fuck your double-standard hypocrisy.
> 
> So, anyway, please be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter/episode and/or the story so far in your reviews. They're always appreciated.


	6. Deep Blue Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Due to the increasing danger of each Angel that has attacked so far, Commander Ikari requests Evangelion Units 02 and 05 to be sent to Japan, along with their pilots, ahead of schedule.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

For a brief note, I'm not sure if I've made this clear, but the Evangelions in this story all resemble their Rebuild counterparts, except for Unit 05, [REDACTED SPOILERS] and the [REDACTED SPOILER] units. Those units resemble their NGE counterparts, promotional video game counterparts, [REDACTED SPOILER] counterparts, and this continuity's Unit 05 is basically an olive green colored Unit 02, because I honestly don't care for the design seen in Rebuild 2.0. I don't dislike it; I just want something that matches up with the other Evangelion units.

And, please be aware that Asuka, Mari, and Kaji will be the focus of this chapter. They will also be somewhat different from how they are portrayed in canon, especially Asuka, since I honestly  _hated_  the original NGE version of the character. Remember, I'm making these characters  _less_  psychologically screwed up. That doesn't mean they won't suffer horribly as the story continues, though. This is Evangelion, and  _no one_  gets through this series without suffering in one way or another.

As with all stories I write, I wrote this while listening to music. For this episode, I listened to music from  _JAWS_  (1975) by John Williams,  _JAWS 2: 35th Anniversary Edition Soundtrack_  (1978/2013) by John Williams,  _Neon Genesis Evangelion Original Soundtracks_  1 -3 (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu,  _The Return Of Godzilla_  (1984) by Reijiro Koroku,  _Godzilla vs. Biollante_  (1989) by Koichi Sugiyama,  _FLCL_ (2000) by the Pillow and Shinkichi Mitsumune,  _Rebirth Of Mothra 2_  (1997) by Toshiyuki Watanabe, and  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  by Shiro Sagisu and Yoichi Murata and Masamichi Amano.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

By the way... FLCL is back! And with TWO! NEW! _SEASONS!_   _ **FUCK YEAH!**_

Music From  _FLCL_  OST 1 - 3 (2000):  _Pink_ ,  _River's Edge_ ,  _Instant Music_ ,  _Selfish B_ ,  _Last Dinosaur_ ,  _Runner's High_ ,  _Patricia_ ,  _Bran New Lovesong_.

Music From  _Godzilla vs. Biollante_  (1989):  _Asuka_  (Yes, it's a different Asuka, but it's still a very beautiful piece of music).

Music From  _The Return Of Godzilla_  (1984):  _Crash Dive_ ,  _Nuclear Sub SOS_.

Music From  _Rebirth Of Mothra 2_  (1997):  _Daghara Arrives_ ,  _Great Battle At The Bottom Of The Sea_ ,  _End Of The Legend_.

Music From  _Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0_  (2009):  _The Red Ambassadress_  (a redone version of Eva 02 from NGE).

Music From  _NGE_  OST 1-3 (1995 - 1997):  _Eva 02._

Music From  _JAWS_  (1975):  _Ben Gardner's Boat_ ,  _Blown To Bits_.

Music From  _JAWS 2_  (1978):  _Attack On the Water Skier_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony (2009)_ :  _F02 - Preview of Next Time Take 1_ ,  _C07 - Tokyo-3_.

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _River's Edge_  (Kaji introduces 7-year old Asuka to 7-year old Mari),  **02**.  _Instant Music_  (Asuka and Mari pack their belongings),  **03**.  _Asuka_  (Asuka and Mari talk on ship),  **04.**   _Crash Dive_  (Submarines detect Gaghiel),  **05**.  _Selfish B_  (Asuka and Mari making bets),  **06**.  _Nuclear Sub SOS_  (Gaghiel attacks submarines),  **07**.  _Daghara Arrives_  (Gaghiel surfaces),  **08**.  _The Red Ambassadress_  (Unit 02 launches),  **09**.  _Attack On The Water Skier_  (Unit 02 fights Gaghiel),  **10**.  _Great Battle At The Bottom Of The Ocean_  (Unit 02 continues fighting Gaghiel),  **11**.  _Blown To Bits_  (Take a guess),  **12**.  _Bran New Lovesong_  (Remains of UN fleet arrive at port.)

**Music After Ending Theme**

**13**.  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis English Cover, Performed by geekymcgeekstein, Found on YouTube.**

* * *

**Episode 06: Deep Blue Sea**

* * *

**GEHIRN 3rd Branch, New Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, September 10, 2033**

A young man in his early twenties, wearing a green button-up shirt and blue jeans, with his hair tied into a ponytail while sporting a noticeable stubble on his chin, crouched down to look a melancholy seven year-old Asuka Langley Sohryu in the eyes. "Hey there," he said in passable English, which he knew was a middle ground language in Europe. It wasn't his first language, but he'd studied it and practiced it enough that he could hold full conversations in the language, so long as he didn't rush while speaking. "My name... is Ryoji Kaji," Kaji said with a kind smile. Asuka said nothing. She simply nodded her head, until she noticed the other girl around her age standing behind Kaji, peeking out from behind him to look at her curiously.

The girl had dark brown hair in pigtails, and she was wearing glasses. She looked half-Japanese, much like Asuka herself. Kaji soon noticed where Asuka's attention had been drawn. "Oh, I see you've noticed Mari here. Asuka Langley Sohryu, meet Mari Illustrious Makinami," Kaji said with a smile as he gently patted Mari on the head. "Don't worry, she doesn't bite," he added with a chuckle.

"Mister Kaji," a female voice said, grabbing the man's attention.

"Ahem. Y-Yes?" Kaji asked in English as he stood back up to full height.

"The forms have been reviewed and approved," a woman in a business suit said. "You are now the legal guardian of Asuka Langley Sohryu," the woman said as she handed a small stack of documents to Kaji. Kaji took the papers and held them in both of his hands.

"Does she have anything to bring along to her new home?" Kaji asked the woman.

"Only some clothes. We asked her if she wanted to bring any of her old toys along, but... well, they just reminded her of... her mother," the woman said carefully. Stepping closer to the woman, Kaji glanced down at Asuka tentatively stepping closer to Mari.

" _So... what exactly happened to the girl's mother? I was told that she died a couple years back, but I wasn't given a lot of details, though_ ," Kaji asked in a whisper.

" _She committed suicide two years ago. Asuka here was the first one to find the body_ ," the woman whispered back. Kaji's eyes widened.

" _That... that is... no way for a girl to... that's just horrible_ ," Kaji whispered as he looked down at Asuka. " _What about the girl's father? Why is he giving up custody of her?_ " Kaji then asked quietly.

" _The man's an asshole. He only stuck around because the girl's mother was still alive, but as soon as she kicked, he just started neglecting her. The only reason he didn't get rid of her sooner was because the girl's stepmother, who was Langley's mistress before Kyoko died, convinced him otherwise. Poor woman has a better heart than the bastard. Although, rumor has it Langley was already seeing his mistress even BEFORE Kyoko had lost her mind_ ," the woman whispered back. Kaji glanced down once more at Asuka in dismay.

" _Poor girl_ ," Kaji whispered. " _Um, listen... can I have a full report on the incident? You know, so I don't have to ask Asuka herself any questions and cause her... problems?_ " Kaji asked the woman.

" _Of course. There's an official report already in those documents I handed you_ ," the woman replied, nodding her head.

" _All right. D-Danke?_ " Kaji said, trying out his rather awkward German.

" _You're welcome_ ," the woman whispered back with a smile. Looking back down at Asuka and Mari, Kaji smiled as they both timidly approached one another.

"H-H-Hi. I... I'm... I'm M-Mari," Mari said nervously as she held a hand out to Asuka. Asuka looked the other girl up and down before slowly reaching her own hand out.

"I'm... Asuka," Asuka said timidly, glancing away from the other girl. Mari nodded her head in response as she shook Asuka's hand briefly before letting go.

Looking down at the two girls, Kaji led them both outside to his new car, taking Asuka's suitcase of clothes and placing it into the trunk of the car before putting both girls in the back seat and bucking them in. After getting inside and starting the engine, Kaji looked into his rear-view mirror at Asuka and Mari. "So... before we head home... does anybody want to stop anywhere? Mari? Asuka? Anybody wanna... get something to eat so we can... all get to know each other better?" Kaji asked slowly in English.

"Ie," Asuka replied in fluent Japanese, stunning Mari.

"You can speak Japanese too!?" Mari asked excitedly.

"H-Hai," Asuka replied, nodding her head.

 _Ah, they're already off to a decent start_ , Kaji thought to himself with a smile.

"Sugoi!" Mari replied eagerly.

"So, I guess we'll stop and get some ice cream somewhere," Kaji said, returning to his native Japanese tongue, now that he knew everyone could speak the same language.

Both girls' faces lit up in surprise. "Hey, Asuka? Guess what? I'm an Eva pilot! Are you an Eva pilot too?" Mari asked Asuka in English.

 _There we go_ , Kaji thought with a smile _. They both have something in common now... well, something that isn't completely tragic anyway_ , Kaji thought to himself.

"Yup! And I'm gonna be the BEST! I'll be better than everyone else!" Asuka replied proud and loud.

"Nuh-uh! I'm gonna be the best Eva pilot!" Mari replied. And then... Asuka's competitive side began to truly emerge as her insecurities took hold of her, and it was an ugly beast. Kaji could only frown as the two girls went from timid but friendly into... well, fiery rivals. It was almost heartbreaking to watch, especially for Kaji, who quickly realized that he would be spending the rest of his life putting up with these two girls as he tried to raise them.

* * *

**NERV 3rd Branch, New Berlin, Germany, Thursday, August 14, 2042**

Sitting down in front of his laptop, NERV Inspector Ryoji Kaji looked at the full report from the Japan Branch involving the dissected remains of the Fifth Angel, in addition to the report on the battle itself. "Yikes," Kaji said in his native Japanese. Looking over to his right, he saw two girls, both 16 years of age, sitting down on the couch and watching TV. After he finished reading the report, he opened his next E-Mail. It was a request from Commander Gendo Ikari himself.

"Oh my..." Kaji said as he read the contents of the electronic document. "Hey, Asuka? Mari? I have some news for you guys," Kaji said after he'd finished reading. He saw the two heads of long hair, one red and one brunette, turn to look at him.

"Yeah, Kaji?" Mari asked him with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Next month, we're heading to Japan. Commander Ikari has requested that both Unit Two  _and_  Unit Five be sent to NERV HQ following the Fifth Angel's attack," Kaji explained.

"I thought we weren't scheduled to head over to Japan until December?" Asuka asked Kaji.

"Well, plans have changed," Kaji replied as he reclined in his chair, putting both arms back behind his head.

"Huh," Asuka said. "Is it because all of the Angels so far have only targeted Japan?" Asuka asked him.

"No, Commander Ikari just wants to make us suffer.  _Of course_  it's because of the Angel attacks," Kaji replied humorously, but still with an underlying hint of seriousness.

"What about the American Evas?" Mari asked him.

"Those units are still being tested for new internal power systems. None of them are going to be crossing the ocean until next year," Kaji replied.

"So... are we going to be  _flying_  to Japan, or  _sailing_?" Mari asked Kaji.

"Commander Ikari will let me know in a few days. Until then, I'm going to try seeing what kind of living arrangements I can make for us ahead of time," Kaji said as he stood up and grabbed a cell phone from his pocket. It was his 'work safe' cell phone. And that meant the cell phone given to him by NERV, not the disposable cell phone that he used for his other employer.

Dialing the number for Misato's phone, which he had acquired through his usual snooping, Kaji listened as the outgoing ringtone played. " _Hello?_ " a tired voice asked on the other end. Kaji recognized it immediately.

"Hey, Misato-san! It's Kaji. Listen, the Commander wants Eva units Two and Five sent over your way by next month. Do you know where I could find a place to put the pilots? Are there any houses or apartments that I can set them up in?" Kaji asked her.

" _Kaji? Oh,_ Kaji _,_ " Misato replied tiredly. She must have been half asleep.

"Yes, that's my name," Kaji replied.

" _I haven't heard from you in a while,_ " Misato said groggily over the phone.

"Well... I've been busy.  You know, raising two young girls kind of just eats up a guy's schedule," Kaji said with a chuckle.  "So, um, anyway, do you think you could check around Tokyo Three and see if there's any place that can hold me and the girls?" Kaji asked her again.

" _Well, [yawn] I'll check around and see what I can find,_ " Misato said tiredly. " _When are you guys going to arrive in Japan?_ " she asked Kaji.

"I'm not too sure just yet, but it'll definitely be before the end of September. And don't worry, I'll be staying with the girls wherever they go. I've spent so much time as their guardian... well, I think it's activated my paternal instincts or something. I get protective over them when they bring boys over to the house," Kaji said with a chuckle.

" _Okay, Kaji. That's nice. You be all... whatever. And I'll do... whatever for... whatever. Good night... or morning, or whatever,_ " Misato said.

"Danke! Guten Nacht!" Kaji said in German by accident. He then heard the sound of a beep as Misato hung up her phone.

Kaji looked down at the phone. "Did I say that in German?" he asked himself. "Eh, I don't think she noticed, though," he added with a shrug. He then looked over at the clock on the wall. "Hm... I guess I should have taken the time zone differences into account, though," Kaji mumbled to himself.

* * *

**NERV 3rd Branch, New Berlin, Monday, August 18, 2042**

"So, should I take the sun dress, or just wear the plug suit while we're at sea?" Asuka asked Mari as she packed clothes into a suitcase.

"I'd say keep a spare plug suit on hand, but otherwise, go ahead and wear whatever," Mari said as she carefully secured two spare sets of glasses into a suitcase of her own.

"You know, Mari, you should just get contact lenses," Asuka said.

"No. I hate contact lenses. I can't  _stand_  the feeling of putting them into my eyes," Mari retorted sternly.

"Fine, be that way," Asuka said as she folded some blue jeans and put them into the suitcase. "So... what should we leave out until we have to go?" Asuka asked Mari.

"Whatever you want, Princess. Whatever you want," Mari replied as she started placing several folded pairs of panties and stockings into a suitcase.

A comfortable silence fell over the two girls as they packed their belongings... until Asuka remembered that Mari had her own room. "Mari? Why are you packing your things in my room? Why are  _your things_  in my room to begin with?" Asuka asked her. Mari simply shrugged her shoulders in response.

Asuka simply rolled her eyes and accepted the girl's response. Mari had that way about her, of just doing things for the hell of them sometimes. She'd learned early on that the girl was just very strange, especially with her weird habit of sniffing new people. Early on in their sisterhood, during their fourth month of living together, Asuka had joked about Mari being the daughter of a dog because of her sniffing habit, which had soon escalated into teasing, and finally she went too far and hurt Mari's feelings, eventually resulting in Kaji giving the girl a sit-down and explaining to her that Mari had gone through just as many bad things as she had, with Kaji eventually explaining just how Mari had come into his custody in the first place, or at least the basic outline of it.

Kaji and Mari's father, both being spies and having known each other even before Kaji was in college, had worked together on numerous occasions in the past, and so Kaji had felt an obligation to take care of Mari after both of her parents had died. In the official report concerning Mari's mother, it was practically the same set of circumstances as those surrounded Yui Ikari's death earlier that year. Both women had been reduced to puddles of concentrated LCL following the achievement of extremely high sync rates inside the Evangelions.

Asuka's mother, on the other hand, had retained her physical body. However, she had lost something following the experiment. In the days and weeks that followed, Kyoko Sohryu Zeppelin had gone insane. She had taken to calling a doll her daughter, neglecting Asuka and referring to the girl as a  _thing_  that bothered her, occasionally attempting to kill the girl whenever Asuka got too close to her, even going so far as to violently throttle Asuka on one occasion. On the day that Asuka had been confirmed as a pilot for the Eva program, Kyoko had finally killed herself, shattering Asuka's world forever when the poor girl became the first person to find Kyoko hanging from the ceiling.

For nearly two years following the suicide of Kyoko, Asuka had become withdrawn, until her father simply decided to hand her off to her newly appointed GEHIRN liaison, Ryoji Kaji, forcing the man to become her guardian as well after he'd arrived in New Berlin. Since Kaji was already taking care of Mari around this time, the first few years of Asuka's residence with him and Mari were... tumultuous at best, as she had to learn how to curb her competitive streak and jealousy in order to live alongside Kaji and Mari harmoniously. Over time, however, Asuka and Mari had started getting along, eventually becoming inseparable...  _eventually_.

During the first year of being a dual custodian, Kaji had forced himself to go out and buy parenting books in order to learn how to cope with two girls constantly scheming against one another in order to gain attention and praise so as to boost their own sense of self worth, especially since Asuka had been psychologically scarred by seeing her mother's suicide and her father's neglect towards her, while Mari was still dealing with the fact that  _both_  of her parents were dead, her father having died in an "accident" shortly after her mother's death. Eventually, Kaji was able to get the two girls to see this as common ground in order to grow closer to one another. It took four years of exasperation, pleading, and harsher-than-necessary discipline for Kaji's efforts to finally pay off, and it had only cost him a third of his sanity.

And now, currently, Kaji was a weary soul who worked for NERV, SEELE, the JSSDF, the United Nations Secret Intelligence Committee, and even the United States military as a liaison. Being an agent of so many people was trying, but with his duty to Mari and Asuka, Kaji found himself often times having to give up chasing certain leads on his quest for answers in order to make sure that both girls were raised... well,  _semi-normally_. Having to lose out on so many leads in his personal investigations over the years had caused Kaji no shortage of headaches. But every time he heard Mari and Asuka laughing with one another, he told himself that it was worth it.

Presently, Asuka and Mari were pretty much sisters in all but blood. And like sisters, they tended to prank each other and confide their darkest secrets in one another, as Mari was about to prove to Asuka again in ten seconds. Opening up a drawer to retrieve some underwear, Asuka felt something rubbery and long where her socks should have been. Feeling the object with her hands, Asuka's eyes widened before she pulled the vibrant purple object out of her drawer and looked at it.

"Mari! Is this yours!?" Asuka asked as she held the phallic object tightly in one hand, glaring at Mari.

"Maaaaaayyyybe," Mari replied with a grin.

"Dammit, Mari! Keep your dildos in  _your_  room! My bedroom is  _not_  a closet for your sex toys!" Asuka yelled at Mari.

"Oh,  _please_ , Asuka. Like you haven't placed any of your vibrators in my drawers before?" Mari asked her in return.

"Those were intended as gifts for you,  _dummkopf!_ " Asuka snapped.

"Wait, so... those vibrators...  _aren't_  yours?" Mari asked her in shock.

"No! They're  _yours_! I got them for you as, well, one was an apology for when I ruined that shirt you liked. Another one was a congratulation for your most recent sync test, and the third one was to celebrate your promotion to Warrant Officer," Asuka said.

"Huh. Well, why didn't you  _tell me_  that's what they were for?" Mari asked her in return.

Asuka shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno. I... I thought would have been obvious," she said sheepishly. Mari then walked over and pulled Asuka into a hug.

"D'aww! Your the best, Asuka!" Mari said with a grin.

"I know," Asuka said simply, rolling her eyes. "Although... I have a confession to make," Asuka said.

"Yeah?" Mari asked her.

"Two of those gifts...  _were_  intended as pranks," Asuka admitted.

"Oh, which ones?" Mari asked her.

"That's for  _you_  to figure out," Asuka replied as Mari let go of her.

"So... how do we pack our stress relievers without anyone finding them when we go through customs?" Asuka asked Mari as she reached up and scratched the back of her head.

"Hm," Mari pondered as she touched the bottom of her chin with a single finger. "Oh, I know! We can smuggle them inside the Evas!" Mari said excitedly.

"I don't know about that," Asuka said thoughtfully. "I mean, won't the Evas be placed under constant scrutiny by the safety crews while they're being moved? I'm pretty sure someone will notice them in the entry plugs before we get to Japan," Asuka pointed out.

"Well, that's the thing. Unit Five has some special hatches lining its armor that open up into small cabinets for emergency supplies. It's a feature that I hear is also being implemented with the armor for the American Evas," Mari explained.

"Okay... but how exactly are we going to get our personal items into Unit Five's supply cases without being found out?" Asuka asked Mari.

"Oh, that's easy! We'll just hide them inside a case full of emergency supplies! No one will think otherwise," Mari said confidently with a grin.

"Are you  _sure_  that will work?" Asuka asked her skeptically.

"Well, not one hundred percent, but it should still have a good chance of success," Mari replied thoughtfully. "Or... we could smuggle one or two of them...  _inside us_ ," Mari suggested with a crazed glint in her eyes.

"W-What!?" Asuka asked her in bewilderment. "You mean, like, swallow them or something?" she asked Mari in horror.

"Well, only if you want the end sticking out of your mouth the whole time. No, I mean, you know, stick one or two up our precious caverns of love the whole trip," Mari explained with a dreamy expression on her face. Asuka stared at Mari in disbelief.

"Sometimes... I wonder about you," Asuka said.

"Or, we could just tape them to our bodies," Mari then suggested.

"Yeah... that's less absurd, but still impractical," Asuka pointed out. Mari looked at her curiously.

"Oh? How so?" Mari asked Asuka.

"Well, when they show up on scanners, it'll look like we have explosives attached to us," Asuka pointed out.

"Oh,  _please_! That's just absurd! Who is going to mistake a dildo for a bomb!?" Mari asked Asuka. "I mean, look at it!" Mari said as she held out a purple dildo in her hand. "It's made of rubber! Now, your  _vibrators_ , on the other hand, have electronic and mechanical equipment inside them.  _Those_  could be mistaken for explosive devices," Mari said.

"At least they can fit in a snatch hatch without being obvious!" Asuka retorted.

"Touch'e," Mari replied with a nod of her head.

"So... pack them with the toiletries?" Asuka then asked Mari. Mari let out a sigh and reluctantly nodded her head.

"Yeah, pack 'em with the toiletries," Mari said in defeat.

The two girls spent the rest of the afternoon packing their clothes and other personal belongings, carefully hiding their favorite stress relievers in the most unlikely of places, until Mari found a stack of magazines under Asuka's bed. "Oh-ho... Rodox? That's pretty old," Mari said with a mischievous smile as she opened the magazine.

"Hey! P-Put that away!" Asuka ordered her.

"Actually, I think I want to read it," Mari replied.

"Whatever," Asuka replied, shaking her head before she grabbed a pink dildo off of the floor. "Hey, we missed one," she said, just as the bedroom door opened and Kaji stepped into the room.

"Asuka, how's the packing going?" Kaji asked, just before he noticed Mari kneeling next to Asuka's bed. "Mari? Why aren't you in your room getting your things packed? We're leaving in just a couple of weeks," Kaji asked her, before he noticed the magazine in her hands.

"Uh... this is reading material. You know... for alleviating boredom," Mari said, somewhat flustered.

"Right," Kaji said, doing his best to remain cool. While Europe was indeed far more relaxed and open and sexuality than many other places in the world, including his home country of Japan, Kaji still felt a bit uncomfortable when it came to talking about sexual topics with them. It was a part of his upbringing in Japan that remained with him.

"Well, just... keep it somewhere safe," Kaji said before he turned around. "So, Asuka, with Mari helping you, I guess that you're almost..." Kaji trailed off as he saw Asuka holding a bright pink object in her hands. Asuka glanced down at the dildo before looking back up at Kaji.

"Um... y-yeah. We're very c-close to being done," Asuka said nervously, quickly putting her hand behind her back.

 _This is my life now_ , Kaji realized.  _Walking in on my daughters-I mean,_ _ **charges**_ _-and catching them with sex toys. Not how I envisioned this job when I first took it_.  _I wonder how things would've turned out if I had stayed in Japan with Ritsuko and Misato had taken my place? Actually, maybe I'd rather not know_ , Kaji realized as he glanced between Asuka and Mari, both girls wearing worried/"innocent" expressions on their faces as they hid their... stress relievers.  _At least they aren't hiding any boys under the bed this time_ , Kaji thought to himself as consolation.

Kaji quickly closed his eyes and turned around. "Okay. That's... that's good. I'll be getting my own stuff taken care of in the meantime. Just make sure to... leave some clothes out for the next two weeks, though. You'll need to have something to wear in the time before we leave," Kaji said awkwardly as he walked out of the room. Much like Kaji, Asuka had a slightly conservative attitude towards sex as well, while Mari... did not. At least, not to the same extent as Asuka and Kaji.

Glancing between each other, Mari and Asuka both tried shared nervous laughter. "B-Better to [snicker] have our toys than to just [snicker] b-bang the first hunks we see, right?" Mari asked Asuka with a grin.

"You-[snicker]-you tell that to him," Asuka said as she tried to stifle her laughter.

"Okay," Mari said with a chuckle as she stood up and walked out of the room.

Bringing a hand up to her chest, Asuka let out the rest of her laughter and tried to breathe again, before looking back at the object in her hand. "Well... we don't leave for a couple more weeks. I...  _guess_  I could keep this one out until then," she said to herself before she locked the door to her bedroom, smiling at the fact that she now had some alone time.

* * *

**Aircraft Carrier Over The Rainbow, United Nations Pacific Fleet, En Route to New Yokosuka, Japan, Wednesday, September 17, 2042**

Standing out on deck and leaning over a safety rail, Asuka frowned. She was currently wearing a yellow sun dress and a straw hat, while behind her, Mari was wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and a green flight jacket. "Hey, what's wrong?" Mari asked Asuka as she walked up to her sister in arms.

"I hate the ocean," Asuka said as she looked out at the blue/green water as it sparkled in reflection of the sunlight.

"And here you always used to tell me that you dreamed of sailing," Mari said, remembering a secret Asuka had told her when they were both nine years old.

"Yeah, well... that was just me going gaga over that stupid TV show or movie, or whatever that was always playing on TV," Asuka retorted.

"Mm-hm. Sure it was," Mari said skeptically.

"Come on, what's really bothering you?" Mari asked her. Asuka let out a sigh and looked at Mari.

"Mari... do you think it's kind of strange that we aren't going in a straight line to Japan and then taking ground transport to Tokyo Three? I mean, why are we going  _around_  the country the long way?" Asuka asked her.

"Beats me," Mari said with a shrug.

"It's just... something seems odd about it. I know that there's a port in Sasebo that we could stop and unload at, so why the need to go all the way around to New Yokosuka? The roads between Sasebo and Tokyo Three can't be  _that bad_ , can they?" Asuka asked.

"Hey, don't ask me. I didn't plan the route," Mari replied with a shrug.

A light breeze swept through the air, blowing Asuka's hair around gently as she returned her gaze to the ocean. Mari stepped closer and leaned against the safety rail. "So, when we reach land, wanna go hit an arcade or something?" Mari asked Asuka as another gentle breeze swayed both girls' hair.

"Mm, maybe," Asuka replied.

"Hey, Mari? Can I tell you something?" Asuka asked the bespectacled girl.

"Shoot," Mari said in response.

"To tell you the truth... I'm kind of nervous," Asuka admitted.

"Mm," Mari nodded her head in understanding.

"It's... a different culture, even if we speak the same language. We won't know anybody, and... I guess, I'm just... kind of scared," Asuka said softly.

Mari simply nodded her head and put her arm around Asuka's shoulder, bringing her into a half-hug. Asuka would never say these things to anyone else but her, not even Kaji... well, maybe she'd tell Kaji if she was really,  _really down_ , but normally she only revealed these things to Mari. "Don't worry too much about it," Mari said. "Besides, you'll adapt and get used to things over there," she added, giving Asuka's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"So... wanna go get something to eat?" Mari asked Asuka.

"Nothing from the cafeteria. Navy food is  _nasty_ ," Asuka replied.

"How about something from a vending machine?" Mari asked her.

"Well... sure, why not?" Asuka replied, before both girls made their way back inside the ship.

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Over The Rainbow, Kaji was busy looking over the shoulders of several technicians as they communicated with the fleet's various submarine escorts. The ship's commanding officer, Commander Patrick Lamarr, was busy speaking with one of the escort submarines at that very moment. "And none of the subs in your formation have changed their relative positions? Affirmative. Just keep an eye on your sonar for the time being. If it starts moving in our direction, let us know. Lamarr out," Commander Lamarr said into headset plugged into one terminal.

Kaji approached the older man with a look of curiosity. "So, what was that about?" Kaji asked Commander Lamarr in accented English. Lamarr looked at Kaji.

"Submarines caught something on their sonars. It's big, but it's not moving towards us yet. It might just be a whale," Lamarr replied.

"Well, I hope so," Kaji said in response. He had a very important cargo to deliver to Commander Ikari stashed aboard the ship. If an Angel were to attack, he'd have to choose between the cargo and the girls, and while a pre-guardian Kaji would have chosen the cargo immediately, a worn and parental Kaji would ultimately put Mari and Asuka's survival first. While losing the special cargo would certainly earn him Commander Ikari's ire, Kaji was past the point of caring about Gendo's anger.

"I'll have Mari and Asuka get their plug-suits ready, just in case," Kaji soon said to the Commander.

"Both of them?" Lamarr asked Kaji questioningly.

"Oh, that's right," Kaji said, smacking himself in the forehead. "Only Unit Two has the special gear attached to it," he said out loud.  _Still, better to be safe than sorry_ , Kaji thought as he made his way off the bridge.

* * *

**United Nations Attack Submarine Trafalgar**

"It's keeping pace with us," Commander Gerald Fenton said as he eyed the blip on the sonar screen.

"Still not changing course," Ensign Calhoun said.

"Maybe it's another submarine?" Fenton asked him as he scratched his chin.

"Unknown. It's maintaining speed and direction consistent with our own. Maybe we're near an old reef and we're just picking up sonar pings of ourselves? It's been known to happen, what with most reefs being... well, just so messed up since Second Impact," Calhoun said.

"I don't think so. There aren't any reefs on our maps. This is something else. Maybe... it's a squid?" Fenton suggested in response.

Calhoun just shrugged his shoulders as he and Fenton kept their eyes glued to the sonar screen, watching as a very large blip continued moving alongside them. Fenton felt a pit forming in his stomach the longer he watched the screen. Something just didn't feel right.

* * *

**Over The Rainbow, Near The Takeoff Strip...**

Asuka and Mari both sat on a bench as they watched maintenance crews work on their helicopters and fighter jets. Both girls were currently eating a bag of chips, sharing it between them. As they munched on their snack, they noticed a maintenance worker back up towards a pile of ropes. "Bet he's gonna trip," Mari said.

"Betcha he'll notice it and avoid it," Asuka countered.

"How much you wanna bet?" Mari asked her with a grin.

"Another bag of potato chips," Asuka answered with a smirk.

"Damn, you never bet with money," Mari whined playfully.

"That's because I'm a genius," Asuka replied before shoving a handful of chips into her mouth.

"You're not  _that_  smart," Mari retorted with a smirk.

"Smarter than  _you_ ," Asuka replied.

"Sure. You're also lazier, stingier, and when you think no one is around...  _louder_ ," Mari said with a grin.

"Mari? Don't make me throw you overboard," Asuka threatened playfully.

"Yeah, as if you could even  _lift me_  with those twigs you call arms," Mari joked.

"I guess not, what with you probably weighing more than this aircraft carrier," Asuka joked wickedly. Mari narrowed her eyes at her sister in arms.

"You're cruising, Asuka. You're cruising for a bruising," Mari replied with a frown.

"Aww, did I hit a nerve?" Asuka teased, before she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Kaji was jogging towards them. "Shit, how'd he find us out here?" Asuka asked as Kaji got closer to them. Mari turned her head to glance at their approaching guardian.

"Please, you know he's got some kind of sixth sense about us. He probably wants to make sure we haven't tossed each other into the rotor blades of a helicopter or something," Mari said with a shrug before she grabbed a handful of chips and shoved them into her mouth.

Both girls returned their attention to the one hapless crewman who had deftly avoided tripping over the ropes by his feet. "Told ya. You owe me a new bag of chips," Asuka said to Mari, just seconds before Kaji reached them.

"Hey girls," Kaji said with a smile as he put his hands on his knees and caught his breath.

"Wow, you're really out of shape, aren't ya?" Asuka asked Kaji with a snicker as he glanced up at her with a frown.

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and make fun of me," Kaji retorted, rolling his eyes at Asuka.

"So, is there a reason you've come out here to get us? Is it lunch time?" Mari asked Kaji.

"No, but the submarine escort has... detected something large on their sonars. It hasn't moved towards us yet, so it could just be a whale or a squid. But if it's not, Asuka, I'd like you to be ready to get in your Eva," Kaji said. Asuka's eyes widened slightly.

"But, Kaji, my Eva is over in another ship," Asuka responded.

"I know. I'll fly you over there if necessary, but I just want you to know that things could go from peaceful to chaotic at a moment's notice," Kaji said after finally catching his breath and standing up straight, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Wait, what about me?" Mari asked. "What about Unit Five? Why is only Asuka being prepared?" Mari asked Kaji.

Kaji glanced at her. "Mari, Unit Five doesn't have the special water-type gear attached to it. If you were to fall into the ocean, you'd sink right away. Unit Two, however, has the necessary gear to swim and float," Kaji explained.

"Well, I've  _synchronized_  with Unit Two before," Mari stated.

"Yes, but you've never achieved the same sync rates in Unit Two as you do with your own Eva. If we have to face an Angel out here, Asuka's the best choice because of Unit Two's special gear. If both Eva's had the special gear, then I'd have both of you prepared for it," Kaji said. During the first year into his dual guardianship of Asuka and Mari, he'd learned the hard way that the girls became extremely aggressive and competitive any time it seemed that he was playing favorites. This had been, of course, a result of them both losing their parents an early age and developing deep-seated insecurities, with Asuka having spent two years living with a neglectful father and a mostly caring but otherwise hands-off stepmother following her own mother's death causing the red-head to develop the more severe insecurities and a slight superiority complex as a result, at least when compared to Mari, who only had parental abandonment issues at the start.

Asuka's stepmother had indeed tried to bond with the girl at multiple points during their time living in the same house, but Asuka would never reciprocate or let herself give in. Asuka would always push the woman away, and eventually, her stepmother gave up on trying to bond with the girl. Years later, in 2039, Asuka actually stumbled upon her stepmother again and actually tried to bond with her, at Kaji's behest. While the two females never achieved the mother and daughter relationship that the stepmother had hoped for, they were able to achieve the status of being amicable friends, although Asuka still resented her biological father for abandoning her following her mother's suicide.

In addition to helping Asuka connect with her stepmother, and thanks to the advice of those parenting books he'd bought, Kaji had also learned to make absolutely certain that he never appeared to be playing favorites with Mari and Asuka at any time. He always made sure to explain his motives any time he had to choose one of them over the other for something important, and he made absolutely certain that both girls were included in any and all celebrations for anything they did, be it by themselves or together. He'd slipped up a few times here and there, but for the most part, he'd managed to go six years straight without any tantrums or wrecked furniture, so the books must have been mostly right.

Back in the present, both girls accepted Kaji's explanation and nodded their heads in agreement. "Fine. Just make sure you get Four-Eyes somewhere safe if I have to use my Eva. I'm not having a second person inside the entry plug with me, Kaji. We  _all_  know how that will turn out," Asuka said with a glare, remembering the various times when she and Mari had been forced to synchronize together in the entry plugs of both Eva units.

"Don't worry about that. If an Angel does appear, I'll keep Mari in a helicopter with me until things have settled down," Kaji said, thankful for having taken those lessons and earning a license for such a vehicle.

"And then I can jump back down onto the ship with a parachute, right?" Mari asked giddily.

Kaji and Asuka both frowned at Mari's words and groaned. "What?" Mari asked them quizzically.

"Nothing. Just... nothing," Asuka said with a sigh.

* * *

**United Nations Submarine Trafalgar, One Hour Later...**

Commander Gerald Fenton looked at the sonar screen with rapt attention. "It's still moving parallel to us, but... wait, now it's moving towards us. It's moving towards us! Report to the fleet, now!" Fenton called out to Lieutenant Vernon Mullardo. "Right away," Mullardo said before rushing over to a communication console.

Fenton returned his attention to the moving blob on the screen. "Jesus Christ! Look at the size of the thing!" he exclaimed. The blob on the sonar was increasing in size, showing that the blip they'd seen on the side earlier had only been part of their interloper. Fenton grabbed an emergency communication radio. "Mayday! Mayday! Unidentified object approaching at top speeds, all hands pre-aaack!" Fenton yelled as the submarine jerked around. The object had collided with them.

Soon, a creaking sound was heard as the hull began to buckle. "What the hell!?" Fenton asked, just before a terrified ensign began shouting about the hull's structural integrity.

"Structural damage in sections-" the ensign was cut off as the lights went out and the emergency lighting took over, just before reports of flooding began to break out over the intercom. Water soon began rushing into the bridge, and before anyone could get their bearings, the sub was broken in half by a mighty set of giant white jaws.

After destroying the Trafalgar, Gaghiel soon targeted the Dresden, which opened fire on it with a slew of torpedoes. None of them damaged the leviathan as it swam up beside the sub and slammed its head against it before opening its jaws and clamping down, crushing the submarine like a soda can. The Jericho fired its torpedoes as well, again to no effect. Soon, Gaghiel managed to destroy the Jericho as well, before it swam upwards, heading for the surface, where it could sense the call.

It was faint, but Gaghiel felt it. It called out to its children, and Gaghiel, the oldest of Adam's offspring, and the only one to have any offspring that interacted with Lilith's children on the ocean floor, made its way towards it. Gaghiel had been the only one of the Angels born  _before_  Adam had sealed himself in what became Antarctica, and being millions of years old instead of only days or hours, Gaghiel was the only Angel to have discovered the ability to multiply and coexist with Lilith's creations, deep down near the ocean floor, where the two alien forms of life were forced to undergo convergent evolution and adapt to the same environment alongside one another in order to continue existing.

However, this meant that its A.T. Field was consigned solely to its immediate body, and it could not project it outwards like Adam's other seeds. Despite its uniqueness, Gaghiel was still submissive to the call, and its primitive instincts urged it to follow the signal. For eons, Gaghiel had kept to itself, deep on the ocean floor, until 2nd Impact. At that moment, when Gaghiel felt the pulse of Adam, it was brought out of its slumber on the ocean floor. And then, when Adam's signal stopped, Gaghiel began a slow and methodical search of the world to discover the cause of its father's reawakening.

Now, it had found its father, and it was going to get its answers... or die trying.

* * *

**United Nations Aircraft Carrier "Over The Rainbow"**

Sitting down at a table in the cafeteria, Kaji, Asuka, and Mari each held a set of cards in their hands. After forty minutes of waiting around, the trio had decided to go back inside the carrier and bide their time with some food and games. Kaji glanced back and forth between the two girls, regretting the fact that he had taught them how to make a poker face. Looking down at the cards in his hands, Kaji was about to open his mouth when the alarms went off.

"What the!?" Mari asked as they saw crewmen running around the deck in a panic.

"Shit!" Kaji swore as he set his cards down, prompting Mari and Asuka to do the same. Glancing down at the table, Kaji saw that none of them had any winning hands, not himself or the two girls.

Leaving the cards on the table, the trio quickly rushed out onto the main deck, watching in awe and horror as a large white and black creature surfaced out of the water. "Please tell me that's a whale!" Asuka cried out in apprehension and shock.

When the great behemoth opened its maw to reveal the tiny red orb nestled deep in the back of the throat, Kaji gulped in fear. "I'm afraid not," Kaji said, soon noticing the white, skull-like structure located just on the top of the creature's head. "Look! An Angel's mask," Kaji pointed out.

"It's enormous!" Mari gasped as the creature dove back under the water. A minute later, it surfaced again, this time catching a frigate in its maw as it rose up before flopping back into the water like a whale, breaking the frigate in half.

"Did you fucking see that!? It-It just... it just  _ate_  that ship!" Asuka shouted with wide eyes. The creature's maw had been at least half to a third the length of its body.

 _It must sense Adam's remains... or it's mistaking the Evangelions for Adam. They're cloned from Adam's flesh, after all. Either way... we won't make it to New Yokosuka if we don't take action_ , Kaji thought to himself. "Asuka, Mari! Follow me!" Kaji barked as he began running towards the takeoff strip, jogging down flights of stairs and sliding down ladders, Asuka and Mari in fast pursuit.

"Are we activating my Eva!?" Asuka asked Kaji as he raced towards a helicopter nearby.

"No, we're gonna jump in the water for a swim!  _Of course_  we're activating Unit Two!" Kaji replied sarcastically, his near decade of raising two teenage girls having caused him to gain a more sarcastic sense of humor while losing some of the suave and cool charm that had made ladies swoon over him in the past. He still had that charm, but his newly developed sarcastic guardian side ended up emerging during situations of duress. Kaji blamed it on the stress of having to raise two girls by himself for nine years, well nine for Mari, seven for Asuka.

Grabbing a handle and sliding a door open, Kaji quickly got into the cockpit of the helicopter, urging Mari and Asuka to get inside before telling them to shut the doors. Kaji quickly grabbed a headset and started the pre-flight check sequence before starting the engine proper. "Here we go," he said as he got the rotors to start spinning.

The radio soon came to life and Kaji picked it up as he heard Commander Lamarr shouting for him to get out of the helicopter. "Sorry, but no can do! This is an Angel, and that means this is situation is now NERV's jurisdiction. We're activating Evangelion Unit Two, so just stay dry until we're finished. Over," Kaji said smugly into the radio as the helicopter rose into the air.

Kaji flew the helicopter forward, heading for the cargo freighter that held Unit 02 inside its hold. Each Evangelion had been placed inside a large NERV-issue cargo freighter, one that held all of the equipment necessary for a mobile operation and startup of the Eva, including a monitoring station for diagnostic tests, and the ever important power cable attached to a specialized generator. Setting the craft down on the landing pad of the freighter, Kaji yelled for Asuka to get out and watch her head.

"Keep your head down until you're inside the cargo hold!" Kaji called out from his seat. "Mari, stay in your seat and remain buckled up!" Kaji snapped as he saw Mari trying to get out of the other door.

"Aww! But I want some action too!" Mari whined.

"No!  _You're_  staying in here with  _me!_ " Kaji yelled back at her as he took the helicopter back into the air. Kaji knew that the Angel would ignore the helicopter, so Mari would be completely safe from the beast. The guns of the other ships, however... that was another problem.

Meanwhile, Asuka raced down the stair case of the cargo hold as fast as she could, grunting as she tripped from one of her sandals slipping off of her foot, causing her to lose her balance on the stair case. "Dammit!" she snarled before she grabbed the footwear and threw them over the side rail. "Never liked 'em anyway," she muttered as she continued down the stair case barefoot.

As soon as her feet touched the bottom of the hold, Asuka rushed over to an equipment locker and grabbed a plug suit. It was red, just like her Eva, with small neon green sections in places, again like her Eva. Quickly slipping out of her other clothes and into the plug suit, Asuka activated the form-fitting mechanism and rushed over to a terminal to begin the mobile activation sequence before grabbing her A10 connectors and clipping them to her hair. She then quickly made her way over to a nearby ramp and made her way up towards the entry plug. Grabbing a hair band, she quickly tied her hair into a ponytail and got inside, closing the hatch behind her before rushing over to the pilot seat and grabbing the control yokes.

Meanwhile, outside, numerous ships in the fleet continued firing at Gaghiel, their weapons doing nothing against its hide or A.T. Field. Two more frigates found themselves being torn in half as Gaghiel performed its theatrical attack of rising up beneath them with an open maw. A cruiser was destroyed by friendly fire after Gaghiel leapt out of the water and crashed down onto its deck, allowing missiles from another nearby cruiser to follow it and hit sections of the vessel by accident, breaking the ship apart as Gaghiel sank back down into the water and disappeared.

Inside their helicopter, Kaji and Mari watched in bile fascination as the fleet was slowly decimated by the aquatic Angel. "Kaji, do you really think Asuka can stop that thing with just Unit Two?" Mari asked her surrogate father.

"I know she's  _capable_  of it, but... you guys have only had simulation battles based on data collection from Japan. This is nothing like those other Angels," Kaji said fearfully.

When he was around other people, Kaji was suave and slick, but around his two surrogate children, he allowed his full range of emotions to be seen. He had to, or else their insecurities would just increase and they'd become emotionally distant, or so those parenting books had told him. "I hope those simulations were enough," Kaji muttered as he watched the Angel destroy yet another ship.

 _If I'd brought my package for Commander Ikari up here with me, that thing would be targeting us right now as well. If I were alone in the helicopter, I could probably draw it away, but with Mari in here... I can't do that_ , Kaji thought to himself before he saw the doors of a freighter's cargo hold begin to open as a platform rose up, covered in tarp. "There she is!" Kaji said, pointing down to the tarp-covered section of the freighter.

Down below, the tarp began to move as the figure beneath it rose up, using it as a shroud before standing up to a full height of 80 meters. With a single Eva-sized pistol holstered at its side, Evangelion Unit Two, the first production unit, cast off its shroud and stood up tall, its red armor shining in the light of the sun. The freighter it was in, being a full 300 meters in length, was equipped with only a handful of weapons.

Reaching down to grab an Eva-sized ax from the hold, Unit Two held it in one hand before pointing a finger at the Angel, which had just surfaced again. "Thar she blows!" Mari squealed excitedly. Kaji just raised an eyebrow in response, not entirely sure of which giant the girl was referring to at the moment.

Down below, Gaghiel turned to face the Evangelion standing on the freighter. Moving with frightening speed through the water, Gaghiel dipped slightly before launching itself into the air, sailing over Unit Two as the Eva swung its ax towards it, hitting the A.T. Field with an orange splash around the Angel's body. As Gaghiel kept sailing overhead, Unit Two was pushed back slightly.

"Shiesse!" Asuka swore as the Angel soon plunged back into the water on the other side of the freighter, sending waves to rock against the ship. "The ax didn't even scratch it!" Asuka hissed inside her entry plug. Soon, the Angel surfaced again, and Asuka used the pistol to fire several rounds at it, seeing orange flashes with each impact.

"Wait, I have to neutralize the A.T. Field, duh!" Asuka grumbled to herself before she sent out Unit 02's AT Field. There was a shimmer in the air, before a brief warble of orange coated the Angel's body. "There we go!" Asuka said with a grin before she fired the pistol again. The Angel swam towards the freighter before diving under the water, small trails of red blood following it.

"I hit it!" Asuka said, before she heard a splash from behind her. She turned Unit 02 around to see the Angel swimming towards another ship. "Die Holle!" she grumbled as the Angel rammed into the vessel and caused it to capsize before turning around and swimming back towards her, its body gliding through the water with grace and agility that she didn't expect a creature of its size to be capable of. Asuka quickly re-holstered the pistol onto the Eva's side.

Unit 02 held the ax up again and crouched, preparing to leap at the Angel, seeing the mask on the top of its head... until the maw opened, and Asuka became instilled with fear as row upon row of teeth glistened in the water and sun, with a small red orb visible in the very back of the throat. That was the core, the Angel's one true weak spot. Asuka gulped before narrowing her eyes. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Asuka told herself.

The Angel then closed its mouth before it dove under the water, and Asuka felt fear as she realized the Angel was going to do to the freighter what it had done to the frigates. "Where is it!?" she asked in fear as she forced Unit 02 to turn around, holding the ax defensively. Seconds passed without any sign of the Angel. Glancing over the edge of the freighter, Asuka chanced looking down into the depths, seeing nothing below her.

"Did it just... give up?" Asuka asked herself. The waters were still for a moment around the fleet, and the Asuka felt the freighter begin to move. Unit 02 was jostled around, trying to keep its balance as the leviathan beneath it slammed itself against the freighter. "Shiesse!" Asuka cried out before the Angel slammed against the ship again, causing the vessel to list. Unit 02 lost its balance and was sent careening overboard, holding onto its ax for dear life.

Hitting the water with a splash, Unit 02 moved its limbs, the special equipment attached to it allowing it to have some level of ballast. Turning the Eva around, Asuka saw the maw of the beast opening as it turned towards her, and her blood turned to ice, fear shooting through her entire body. "Mein... gott!" Asuka whispered as the murky depths of the ocean made this ancient predator seem larger than before, its red core shining like a demonic eyeball.

 _Move! You have to move!_  Asuka soon blinked out of her stupor, yelling in fright as the Angel was almost upon her. Using the ax, Asuka slammed the weapon into the tip of the beast's upper maw, using it as a holding point before raising Unit 02's hips and slamming its legs against the sides of the maw, hanging onto it as the Angel closed both sets of jaws, Unit 02 temporarily safe with its hold keeping its limbs out of the mouth. The Angel then violently thrashed its head from side to side in an attempt to shake Unit 02 loose, but Asuka held firm.

Unable to shake the Evangelion loose, Gaghiel began diving, gliding through the water with the grace of an eagle in the air. Unit 02 held tight as the Angel slammed itself against the freighter again, before moving on towards the surface, breaking through the water like a whale. The red Evangelion stuck out on the tip of the Angel's maw like a red nose on a reindeer, both beasts glistening in the sun as the water on them shone like coats of diamonds.

Diving back into the water with a large splash, Gaghiel began twisting and turning its body in an effort to shake Unit 02 loose from its maw. Despite the constant movement, Unit 02 held firm. Growing more frustrated, Gaghiel decided to move away from the Lilin's turf and back towards its own.

Inside the entry plug, Asuka soon saw a digital pressure meter appear, just as the Angel began diving deeper and deeper into the water. "Uh-oh," Asuka muttered as she saw the depths of the water around them become darker and murkier as Gaghiel dove deeper and deeper. The pressure meter began flashing red and alarms began going off inside the entry plug as Gaghiel took Unit 02 down to dangerous depths.

"Aw... fuck!" Asuka spat before she forced Unit 02 to release itself from the Angel. Gaghiel continued diving, while Asuka entered a command for a remote pull-back of the power cable, causing the Eva to ascend back towards the surface. Being already inside a capsule of liquid, Asuka wasn't too concerned about the effects of pressure on her own body, but the Evangelion, and its equipment, could only handle so much at a time.

As the Evangelion returned to the surface, Asuka gasped as she saw a black and white shape moving towards her at frightening speed. The Angel had turned around. Fear flowed through Asuka once more at the sight of the behemoth racing towards her, its maw opening slightly to reveal is hundreds of teeth. The ax was still attached to the tip of its top jaw, but Asuka doubted it would do her any good at this point.

Moving Unit 02's limbs into a certain position, Asuka waited for the Angel to come closer, a plan forming in her mind for survival. If she timed herself just right, she'd be able to perform a maneuver similar to the one she'd done earlier. If she missed, though... she would die.

Up above the water, Kaji and Mari both looked down at the retracting power cable on the freighter. "Please still be attached, please!" Kaji pleaded as he waited for the surface to breach. And breach it did as the Angel broke through the water and soared into the air, a red humanoid giant holding on to the underside of its lower jaw with a progressive knife.

Placing one hand against the Angel, Unit 02 pushed back as it tore its knife out of the beast's jaw and fell back down into the water, grabbing a hold of the freighter with one hand as it twisted its body to face the Angel as it dove back into the water near a destroyer, the vessel firing a round from its cannons. The rounds missed and slammed into the side of the freighter, causing an explosion that sent Unit 02 back into the water before it rose up and grabbed another spot along the deck to hold.

Using its other hand, unit 02 retrieved its (thankfully) still holstered pistol. The Eva released its hold on the freighter to make sure that the weapon was loaded and turn off the safeties, before grabbing onto the deck of the slowly sinking freighter with one hand, its other one holding the pistol defensively. Soon, the Angel appeared again, this time catching the destroyer in its maw and capsizing it before pushing forward through the water, heading towards Unit 02. It was using the ship as a shield, the Eva's ability to injure it forcing it to take defensive measures.

Dozens of tiny figures fell off the deck of the destroyer as the Angel pushed it through the water. The destroyer was on its side as the Angel drove it through the water, the bottom of the vessel forcing the Angel's mouth to open wider than usual. However, with much of the vessel still hanging out of its mouth, the stress began to take its toll. Cracks started to appear in the parts of the vessel hanging out of the Angel's mouth.

 _It's learning. I don't believe it! The Angels can learn_ , Asuka thought to herself.  _But with its mouth open, the core is vulnerable! But... it has that ship in its mouth. How the hell am I going to hit the core before it's got ME in its mouth? Wait a minute... if I can detonate the ship's engines or something, I can damage the core! But what about the crew? I... I'd be killing all of them as well. Can I... do that? I don't want to but... th-this is war, Asuka. And this is your best chance to take the beast down_ , Asuka told herself with a grimace.

Feeling the freighter beginning to list to one side, Asuka forced Unit 02 to grab another piece of the deck a bit farther, until the flat horizontal edge started to become diagonal. Unit 02 turned its neck, allowing Asuka to see the ship starting to sink into the water.  _My power cable is still attached, but if I eject it too early, I may not have the time or energy to swim over to the other freighter!_

Swallowing her fears, Asuka forced Unit 02 to aim the pistol at the destroyer in the Angel's maw. Lining up the iron sights, she squeezed the weapon's giant trigger. The oversized round tore through the air, hitting the deck of the freighter.  _Come on, aim for the guns or the... where is the engine located? Where are the ship's fuel reserves located!? Dammit_ , Asuka thought as she fired the pistol again, hitting a cannon and blowing it up.

The Angel did not slow down, the cracks in the ship growing wider as the beast pushed forward through the water, heading towards Asuka with murderous intent. Asuka fired her pistol again, hitting a command cabin and blowing it apart. "Come on! Blow up!" Asuka screamed inside the entry plug.

She fired again, hitting the bow of the ship. "Fuck!" Asuka swore before she aimed again. She checked the ammo counter nearby. She had five shots left. Squeezing off another round, Asuka watched in dismay as the large bullet simply broke a part of the ship's rudder. "DAMMIT! I refuse to die out here! Blow up you fuck!" Asuka screamed at the top of her lungs.

She fired the pistol again, he aim thrown off as the freighter began sinking deeper into the water. "Shiesse!" Asuka swore as the round simply sailed through the air to a destination unknown. "Three left!" she gasped as she aimed once more, the constant sinking of the freighter making it difficult for her to aim properly.

Firing again, Asuka watched as the bullet went into another cannon, blowing it up. "Fuck, just blow up, dammit! BLOW UP!" Asuka screamed as the Angel moved closer. She fired again, this time hitting into the depth of the ship, but doing nothing. "One shot left," Asuka gasped in fear as she felt the freighter behind her sink further into the water.

Holding her gun straight and true, Asuka forced herself to take a deep breath and line up the sights properly. There was one spot she hadn't hit on the destroyer yet. " _Lächle, du Hurensohn_ ," Asuka growled, just before she squeezed the trigger one last time and sent the final round speeding through the air, slamming into the destroyer.

The vessel then ignited as something inside of it was detonated. The destroyer was soon ripped apart, the explosions and fire working into Gaghiel's maw with such intensity and ferocity that its core was practically liquified from the intense heat. The energy of the explosion tore through Gaghiel's body, ripping it to pieces and sending blood and body parts flying into the air and ocean.

"YES! YES! Take that! Ha-haa!" Asuka cried out joyfully inside the entry plug. Feeling the freighter continue sinking, Asuka entered a command code to eject the power cable. Unit 02 then let go of the sinking ship and began swimming over towards the other freighter, grabbing the upper deck with wet hands before carefully pulling itself up, doing its best to avoid capsizing the vessel, before lying back and resting on the large deck of the ship.

Several crewmen stood by with frowns on their wet faces as Asuka exited the entry plug, LCL pouring out onto the deck with her as she climbed the small ladder and set foot on the surface of the deck. "Ow!" she grumbled as she slipped and fell on her face. Pushing herself back up, Asuka carefully made her way over to the ship's commanding officer, saluting him.

"Do you... do you have a shower I can use?" Asuka asked him. Captain Brent Halbert sniffed the air, grimacing at the smell of the LCL covering Asuka.

"Y-Yeah. We'll get you some clothes too," Captain Halbert said. Asuka then grimaced, realizing that she had kept most of her suitcases on the freighter with Unit 02.

The sound of helicopter blades whirling soon caught Asuka's attention, and she saw Kaji land their borrowed helicopter on the deck's landing pad. After the blades had slowed down to a considerable degree, one of the helicopter's side doors opened and Mari eagerly rushed out, bounding over to Asuka before leaping forward to catch her in a hug. "H-Hey! Get off of me!" Asuka whined as Mari held on tight.

"Oh, come on! I'm just happy that you're alive!" Mari said with a smile.

"Mari! You're gonna get LCL all over your clothes!" Asuka reprimanded her.

"That's all right with me!" Mari replied with a smile.

"Of course it is. You  _like_  this stuff," Asuka grumbled, rolling her eyes.

Soon, after the spinning of the helicopter blades had finally stopped, Asuka watched Kaji get out of the helicopter and walk over to her and Mari. Kaji had a relieved smile on his face as he got closer. "Hey kid," Kaji said softly. "When we get to port, the three of us are going out to celebrate your first victory," he soon added.

Asuka smiled and nodded her head in response. "But first... you need to get cleaned up. You too, Mari," Kaji said with a small frown as he saw the wet spots on Mari's clothes from her hugging the LCL-covered Asuka.

"Hey, Kaji?" Asuka began, "I kept most of my spare clothes on the freighter with Unit Two. Um... please tell me that I still have a suitcase or two left on the carrier."

Kaji chuckled in response. "Don't worry about that, Asuka. I'll make sure that you have something to wear after you get cleaned up," Kaji said. "Now, Mari, go get some clothes for yourself and Asuka and then join her in the showers. We can't have you running around smelling like dried LCL," Kaji said.

Mari quickly parted from Asuka and saluted him. "Yes sir!" she chirped energetically.

Kaji just rolled his eyes and let out an amused sigh. He then walked over to Captain Halbert and shook his hand. "So, where is Asuka getting cleaned up? Somewhere private and safe, I hope?" Kaji asked him in a mildly protective tone.

"Of course. We have a shower area for the pilots in the event that they needed to use the Evas. I'll lead you to it," Halbert replied with a nod of his head. "Just follow me," he added. Asuka, Mari, and Kaji quickly fell into step behind the Captain as he led the way.

* * *

**New Yokosuka Port, Later That Night...**

Wearing a pair of blue jeans and a red T-shirt, Asuka stepped down from the ramp and onto the dry cement of the vehicle bay. She watched in awe as two large sets of Evangelion-sized flatbeds were used by several 18-wheeled NERV-issued trucks to move the behemoths off of the Over The Rainbow and down a loading ramp.

Asuka didn't hear the footsteps behind her until a firm hand rested itself on her left shoulder. Gasping in surprise, Asuka turned her head to see Mari watching the scene with her. "Dammit, Mari! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Asuka snapped.

Mari just smirked at her in response. "Come on, Princess. Kaji's waiting for us over by the convoy. We still have a ways to go before we reach Tokyo Three and NERV Headquarters," Mari said. Asuka nodded her head and followed Mari over towards a line of vehicles waiting near the edge of the port.

"So... please tell me that the back seats of those jeeps and trucks are nice and soft," Asuka pleaded.

"Why? Are you tired already?" Mari retorted playfully.

"Mari, I'm beat. I know Kaji promised we'd go out somewhere to celebrate, but... I just wanna lie down and go to sleep," Asuka replied in an exhausted tone. Mari giggled in response.

"Well, you did just kill your first Angel today, so... I guess we can wait until after we arrive in Tokyo Three. We should get there by morning tomorrow," Mari said.

Nodding her head in appreciation, Asuka turned to follow Mari as she began walking over to the convoy of NERV vehicles. Kaji was already inside one of them, leaning out a window and waving to the girls. Also inside the vehicle, carefully hidden under Kaji's seat, was a special suitcase with two layers in it. The first layer held an assortment of documents, while the bottom layer, the true layer, held something of far greater importance.

As the two girls got into the truck, Kaji motioned for them to climb into the back seat and put on their seat belts. When the first of the Evangelions had been moved from the carrier, the convoy began driving forward, stopping after a certain distance to wait for the second Evangelion to be moved onto a gigantic flatbed and carried down from the ship. It was almost midnight by the time the convoy was able to begin leaving the port, and as Kaji looked at the back seat, he smiled at the sight of Mari and Asuka sleeping.

 _Enjoy this while you can, girls. Things are only gonna get harder from here_ , Kaji thought to himself as the convoy drove through the night. Leaning back against the headrest of his seat, Kaji allowed himself to close his eyes and doze off as well.

* * *

**ENDING THEME: I Want It All, by Queen**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Shinji and Rei meet with Asuka and Mari for the first time, while Kaji meets with Gendo to deliver a secret package.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: And this was the sixth episode. As you can tell, Rewired Asuka is a very different individual from her NGE and Rebuild counterparts. Also, Mari's father was not the same age as Kaji. The man was close to Gendo's age and had met Kaji during the young spy's youth. Mari's father was the man who helped Kaji get a job with the Intelligence Community to begin with, in this continuity at least.
> 
> So, as you may have noticed, the defeat of Gaghiel is similar to the ending of JAWS. I regret nothing. I also sincerely hoped that anyone reading this was listening to the JAWS music I recommended during the final part of the battle.
> 
> So, as always, be sure to let me know what you think of the episode and/or story so far in your reviews. I'd really like to know what people think of my take on Asuka so far.


	7. The Red Ambassadresses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asuka and Mari introduce themselves to their fellow pilots after reaching Japan.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

As a foreward, this episode is pretty much character development and occasional hi-jinks. With two episodes in a row featuring Angel battles, this one is basically serving as a breather episode, kind of like Episode 04 and Episode 02. So, sit back and relax with this one.

Music that I listened to included  _Neon Genesis Evangelion Original Soundtrack_  Volumes 1 - 3 (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _FLCL_  (2000) by The Pillows and Shinkichi Mitsumume,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  by Shiro Sagisu and Yoichi Murata and Masamichi Amano,  _Kare Kano_  (1998) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Die Hard With A Vengeance_  (1995) by Michael Kamen,  _The Terminator_  (1984) by Brad Fidel, and  _The Fifth Element_  (1997) by Eric Serra.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is not a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _Neon Genesis Evangelion OST_  1 - 3 (1995 - 1997):  _Ritsuko_ ,  _Misato_.

Music From  _The Fifth Element_  (1997):  _Korben Dallas_ ,  _Koolen_ ,  _Heat_ ,  _Badaboom_ ,  _Leeloominai_ ,  _Mina Hinoo_.

Music From  _The Terminator_  (1984):  _"Fuck You Asshole"_ ,  _Main Title_ ,  _Reese Dreams of Future War_.

Music From  _Kare Kano OST 1 - 3_  (1998):  _Yukino Miyazawa III (Jazz Rock)_.

Music From  _Die Hard With A Vengeance_  (1995):  _Summer In The City_  (By The Lovin' Spoonful).

Music From  _Evangelion S2 Works_ (1998) :  _OP-1 Strings_.

Music From  _FLCL_ _OST_  1 - 3 (2000):  _Runner's High_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_ (2009) :  _F-02 Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Summer In The City_  (kids walk home from school),  **02**.  _Mina Hinoo_  (Misato and friends drinking),  **03**.  _Badaboom_  (Makoto takes Misato home),  **04**.  _Koolen_  (Misato goes to bed),  **05**.  _Korben Dallas_  (kids at the mall),  **06**.  _"Fuck You Asshole"_ (Toji pisses off Asuka),  **07**.  _Runner's High_  (Rei and Shinji meet Mari),  **08**.  _Yukino Miyazawa III (Jazz Rock)_  (Asuka chases Toji through the mall),  **09**.  _Misato_  (Asuka introduces herself in school).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**10**.  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 07: The Red Ambassadresses**

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment, Tokyo-3, Friday, September 19, 2042**

"Why does it feel hotter than usual?" Toji Suzuhara whined as sweat began to drip from his brows. Ahead of him, Rei Ayanami curtly nodded her head in silent agreement with his complaint about the heat. Next to Rei, Shinji Ikari wiped his forehead with arm that was already slick from sweat.

"Great, now it does nothing," Shinji grumbled in annoyance. Rei glanced at him before rolling her eyes.

"And I hear the Defense Force is already making twelve of them as we speak," Kensuke Aida said enthusiastically as he rambled on about some new plane he'd read about on a military news website the other night. He was the only one not entirely bothered by the unusual heat wave that Japan was experiencing that month.

Walking home from school, Shinji and Rei, accompanied by Toji and Kensuke, made their way up the stairs to the floor where their apartment resided. Kensuke was still rambling on about some new military plane that was being produced for the JSSDF, while Toji just nodded his head and rolled his eyes at his friend. Rei simply tuned the boy out, while Shinji followed Toji's example, albeit without the eye-rolling. As they neared the top, Rei tilted her head in curiosity as she saw several moving boxes sitting outside the door to an as-of-yet unoccupied apartment.

"Oh, we have new neighbors?" Shinji asked rhetorically as he eyed the boxes.

"And it can go at speeds of-hey, why'd you guys stop?" Kensuke asked just inches away from Rei's back. He looked around her and saw the moving boxes. "Oh, it looks like you guys have some new neighbors," Kensuke noted.

"So it would seem," Rei said in agreement, nodding her head. Soon, two Section 2 agents, one bald with a goatee and one sporting a full head of short-cropped hair, walked out of the apartment alongside a man with a blue button-up shirt, a ponytail, and a stubble on his chin.

"Hey, thanks again for the help," the man said to the Section 2 agents.

"It's no problem," the bald agent said.

"I think I can take care of the rest. So, uh... I guess, go do whatever it is you guys normally do," the ponytail man said. The two agents quietly nodded their heads before turning in the direction of the four teenagers. The agents stepped to the side against the door to another unused apartment and motioned for the kids to pass them.

"Hey, these guys are Section 2!" Kensuke said with glee. "That means whoever's moving in must be important," he added.

"No shit," Toji muttered in response. Rei and Shinji both nodded at the two agents as they passed them.

"Corporal Ayanami. Corporal Ikari," the short-haired agent said curtly with a nod of acknowledgement.

"Uh... right," Shinji said with a nod, still not used to the whole ranking system that came with being an Eva pilot. He and Rei had both been promoted to the rank of Corporal following the defeat of Ramiel back in July.

"Corporal!? Shinji, you never told me you and Rei were promoted!" Kensuke exclaimed as he ran up to the boy, causing Shinji to groan and roll his eyes.

"Gee, I can't imagine how I forgot to tell you," Shinji said dryly. Standing back by the other apartment door, the man with the ponytail chuckled.

"Oh, Eva pilots, eh?" he asked loud enough for the teenagers to hear him, prompting Rei to turn around first.

"I guess that means I'm in safe hands while living here," the man added humorously. He then knelt down and picked up a moving box before carrying it into the apartment. Rei raised an eyebrow quizzically at the doorway where the man had disappeared.  _I wonder..._  Rei thought to herself as she looked over at the Section 2 agents, both of whom were busy lighting cigarettes leaning against the wall.

 _Then again, with myself and Shinji both living in this building, it would make sense for Section 2 to handle any new residents as a way of inspecting them in order to determine whether or not they are potential threats_ , Rei rationalized. Rei knew that if new pilots were to be transferred into the city, the Commander would have told her, and yet she had received no news from the Commander or anyone else in recent days regarding the possibility of any new pilots being transferred into the city. Therefore, it was likely that Section 2 was simply helping this man move into his apartment in order to inspect him and check him out.

After making their way down the hall and over to the door to Misato's apartment, Shinji unlocked the door with his key before opening it and letting everyone else in first, quickly closing the door shut behind him after Kensuke entered. Taking off their shoes, everyone made their way through the kitchen, where Shinji opened the fridge to grab some sodas and snacks for everyone, making sure to grab a juice box for Rei. During Rei's third week with Misato and Shinji, the girl had discovered the wonders of juice, and it quickly became one of her favorite drinks.

Looking at the fridge door after closing it, Shinji saw a note from Misato.

' _ **Shinji and Rei,**_

_**I'll be working a late shift this evening. I tried making some food for you. It's in the fridge. If you feel sick after the first bite, I'll understand if the rest of it is untouched. Have fun tonight, you two, but not TOO MUCH fun, if you know what I mean!** _

_**Misato**_ '

"Huh. I guess those cooking lessons I've been giving her might be paying off. I hope I'm not wrong," Shinji said to himself as he read the note a second time. "But, what does she mean by too much fun? Wait... she's  _teasing_  us," Shinji said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. After fully processing Misato's note, Shinji made his way into the living room, where Rei was busy doing her homework on the coffee table, while Toji and Kensuke were flipping through channels on the TV. Sitting on the couch behind Rei, Pen-Pen was reading a magazine.

Shinji gently set the juice box down next to Rei, who glanced up at him with a small smile and a nod of her head in appreciation. "Thank you," Rei said softly. Shinji nodded his head in return with a smile of his own, before he handed a can of soda to Kensuke and Toji each. He then pulled the tab on his own soda can before taking a gulp.

"So, Shin-man, where's Misato?" Toji asked as he took a sip of his own soda.

"She's working the night shift. She left a note on the fridge," Shinji explained.

"Oh. That must suck," Toji commented.

"Well, somebody's gotta do it," Shinji said with a shrug.

"Hey, Toji, how's your sister doing?" Shinji asked, suddenly remembering that Toji had a sister. She was the reason Toji had attacked him back when they had first met, after all.

"Well, I was hopin' ta keep it a surprise an' all, but... she's gettin' released from the hospital tomorrow!" Toji said happily, a big smile spread across his face.

"Really? That's great!" Shinji replied, happy for his friend. "So, I take it you'll want to spend all of tomorrow afternoon with... her?" Shinji asked, not remembering if Toji had ever told him his sister's name.

"Sakura, Shin-man. My sister's name is Sakura," Toji said.

"Right. So... is she angry with me for her injuries?" Shinji asked nervously.

"Naw... she's angry at  _Ken_  for convincing us to go outside with him to watch that fight," Toji said, glancing over in Kensuke's direction.

Kensuke was busy sipping a soda when he noticed Toji looking at him. "What?" Kensuke asked him in confusion. Toji just looked away and returned his attention to Shinji.

"Anyway, I was thinking that I'd take Sakura to the mall on Sunday. You know? Get her out and walkin' around now that she's actually able to walk again," Toji said.

"That sounds like fun. I-wait... hey, Rei?" Shinji asked, prompting Rei to glance up from her homework.

"Yes?" Rei asked him curiously. "Hey, do we have any sync tests or training simulations lined up for us on Sunday at NERV HQ?" Shinji asked her. Rei shook her head. "I am not aware of any such tests having been scheduled for us on Sunday. As far as I am personally aware, we do not have anything planned," Rei replied.

"Well then, wanna come to the mall with us on Sunday? We'll get to meet Toji's sister in person and we can... go to the arcade or get something at the food court," Shinji suggested.

"Such as the kebabs at the vegetable grill?" Rei asked with interest and a twinkle in her eyes. Toji blinked at Rei, having  _never_  witnessed the girl expressing any kind of anticipation before. Then again, he'd never really paid that much attention to her after the first three years of knowing her back when his family had first moved to Tokyo-3 from Osaka, shortly before his mother had died.

"Um, sure. Just remember to bring money with you," Shinji replied. Rei smiled softly and nodded her head as she returned her attention to her homework.  _Grilled vegetable kebabs... I enjoy eating those quite immensely. Perhaps I shall learn to make them myself one day_ , Rei thought to herself before she began working on her next math problem.

"So... any set time for when we should all meet up on Sunday?" Shinji asked Toji.

"Well... I've got your phone number, so I'll let Sakura decide when she wants to go, and I'll call you after that. Sound good?" Toji asked Shinji in response.

"Sure. It'll be her first full day out of the hospital, right? Let her pick the time," Shinji replied.

"Yeah. A nice day off with no giant monsters and no bad-smelling hospital rooms. Just me, my sister, and some friends as we enjoy ourselves at the mall," Toji said with a smile.

"Unless we get called in to NERV unexpectedly," Shinji added with a frown. "Aw, I doubt it, man. Besides, you guys do so much testing over there, I'm shocked you both ain't scientists by now," Toji joked.

"Yeah, well, I don't think I'd qualify as a scientist, Toji. In fact I like staying away from NERV HQ as much as I can," Shinji replied.

"Oh, man! What I wouldn't give to be able to go down to NERV HQ and see all of that cool stuff down there! I wish I could be a pilot!" Kensuke exclaimed.

Shinji narrowed his eyes at the boy, wondering if Kensuke had learned  _anything_  from the incident with the Fourth Angel. "Hey, Kensuke... how would you like to try some of Misato's cooking?" Shinji offered, a dark and insidious plan forming in his mind.

"Huh? Hey, Shin-man, I thought you told us Misato's cookin' was dangerous?" Toji asked Shinji.

"I've been giving her cooking lessons for the past couple months," Shinji replied. Toji remained unconvinced by Shinji's words.

"Hm... well, sure! Why not?" Kensuke said eagerly, trusting Shinji.  _Excellent_ , Shinji thought darkly as he made his way back into the kitchen.

"You've got a death wish, Ken-man," Toji said, shaking his head. Kensuke looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

* * *

**NERV HQ, Later That Night...**

Ritsuko Akagi looked at the harmonics readings for the two pilots with an impassive expression on her face. "Well, everything seems to be nominal," she said. "Okay, Sohryu. That's enough for today. You and Makinami are free to go," Ritsuko said into the com. " _Finally! I was afraid you were gonna keep us in here all night!_ " Asuka whined over the com.

" _Hey, I don't mind being in LCL all night_ ," Mari commented over the com.

" _That's because you're insane_ ," Asuka retorted.

" _Please, Princess. I'm just more comfortable in it than you are_ ," Mari retorted over the com.

" _You have a fetish for this stuff! That's not healthy!_ " Asuka shot back. Ritsuko rolled her eyes as she listened to the two girls snipe at each other.

Sitting at a terminal nearby, Maya chuckled as she listened to the two girls verbally assault one another while they exited their Evangelions. "They sound like sisters," Maya commented with a smile.

"Mm-hm. They sure do," Ritsuko said in agreement.

Turning to look at one of the screens nearby, Ritsuko let out a drag from her cigarette. "So, we should have plenty of data to work with over for the next few days," she said.

"Yep," Maya said, nodding her head in agreement.

"So, ready to meet up with Captain Katsuragi and Hyuga later, Sempai?" Maya asked Ritsuko eagerly.

"Well, if we can set the MAGI to run a series of simultaneous archival scans of this data before we leave... yes. But we still need to set a marker for where we'll be leaving off before we go," Ritsuko replied. "Of course... when we get the chance, I'd like to schedule the other pilots for some cross-synchronization tests in Units Two and Five. Oh, Ibuki? Have we run any cross-synchronization tests involving Pilot Ikari and Unit Zero yet?" Ritsuko asked Maya.

"Um, let me check," Maya said as she accessed the harmonics archives from her terminal. Her eyes scanned over date after date in her search for any tests that didn't involve Rei and Unit 01. "Uh... no, it looks like we haven't yet. Should we schedule a sync test soon?" Maya asked Ritsuko.

"I'll take care of that," Ritsuko said. She would have to bring this up with Gendo when she had the chance.

**A Few Minutes Later, In The Pilot Shower And Locker Rooms...**

"Ugh!" Asuka groaned as she rinsed the LCL out of her hair. "I hate smell of this stuff. And it tastes like blood!" Asuka whined.

"You always complain about that, but whenever you're offered the chance to get back in the Eva, you don't seem to have any problems getting back into the LCL," Mari remarked knowingly as she showered in the next stall over.

"Oh,  _bite me_ ," Asuka growled at Mari through the stall.

After both girls had finished rinsing off the LCL, they grabbed their towels and began drying off before heading over to their lockers, grabbing clean underwear and casual clothes. "Okay, I guess we should go get some new school uniforms tomorrow," Mari said as she buttoned up her pink shirt. Standing next to her, Asuka tucked in her yellow T-shirt before zipping up her blue jeans and looping her belt.

"So, is it true that kids go to school on Saturdays here? Like, a half day of school on a Saturday?" Asuka asked Mari.

"From what I've heard, yeah," Mari replied as she began putting on her socks and shoes.

"Gib mir eine pause," Asuka muttered in German.

"Hey, we're in Japan now, so start whining in Japanese," Mari teased.

"Fick dich ins Knie," Asuka retorted as she tied her shoe laces.

Mari just stuck her tongue out at Asuka in response. "Really?" Asuka asked her with one eyebrow raised. "You can be so childish at times," she said with a sigh while shaking her head in disapproval.

"Hey, I'm not the one who's constantly whining about everything," Mari retorted.

"Come on, let's just get out of here," Asuka said as she led the way out of the pilot locker room, stepping into a hallway while retrieving her new NERV ID card from her pocket and fiddling with it in her hands. The two of them traveled through the corridors of NERV HQ in relative silence until they came across an elevator. "So... do all grades wear the same uniforms, or are there different uniforms for each grade?" Asuka asked Mari.

"Huh?" Mari asked her.

"For school. Do different grades have different uniforms?" Asuka reiterated in frustration.

"Oh. I dunno," Mari replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Figures," Asuka muttered as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. "Let's see... which floor has the visitor lobby on it? That's where Kaji said he would meet us, right," Asuka asked as she hovered a finger over the buttons on the elevator's control panel.

**Meanwhile, In Gendo Ikari's ~~Lair~~ Office...**

"This is it," Kaji said as he lifted the false layer out of the briefcase. On the true bottom layer, a small compact cube made of Bakelite was situated inside a sterile hold. There was a small control panel next to the Bakelite cube, while in the cube itself was something that looked like an embryo.

"The remains of Adam, the First Angel," Gendo said as he gazed upon the small form of the being that had caused millions of people and animals to die when it initiated 2nd Impact.

"This was not easy to get a hold of," Kaji said as he stared into Gendo's face. "What exactly do you need this for?" he asked Gendo.

"Presently? Keeping it out of SEELE's hands is the main priority. That's all you need to know," Gendo replied, staring at Kaji coldly.

Kaji offered his conman smile before closing the case. "Of course, Commander," Kaji said, before he glanced down at his watch. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have two girls to pick up and take home," Kaji said as he left the briefcase sitting on Gendo's desk. He turned around and walked over to the door, never once glancing back at the two men standing behind the main desk as he exited the room.

**A Short Time Later, In The NERV HQ Visitor Lobby...**

Sitting down on a bench, Asuka glanced around at the various personnel milling about. Sitting next to her, Mari was busy listening to some music on a portable media player, with a set of headphones plugged into the device. The bespectacled girl was currently humming along to some song, a smile plastered on her face as she hummed. Looking around, Asuka couldn't help but notice just how different NERV HQ felt in comparison to the German Branch. The lighting felt more subdued, and there was a slightly more tense feeling in the air. The walls also felt as though they were a shade darker than the walls at the German Branch.

The atmosphere was different as well. At the German Branch, there was usually a feeling of contentment in the air, a sense of peace and tranquility. Here at the Japanese Branch, however, the air was more melancholy. It wasn't blatant, but the slight difference in tone was noticeable to Asuka. Given how three Angels had already attacked the city above them, she supposed it made sense for everyone to be a little bit on edge. However, each Angel had been defeated, and with three victories in a row, shouldn't everyone be feeling more jubilant? Shouldn't there be a feeling of triumph in the air?

Asuka was shaken out of her thoughts when Kaji's voice broke through the air. "Hey, girls! Sorry I'm a little late. I had a meeting with the Commander that took a little longer than expected," Kaji said as he approached Mari and Asuka.

"I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost," Asuka lied. Asuka then nudged Mari in the arm, causing the girl to open her eyes and take off her headphones.

"Huh? Oh, what's up?" Mari asked as she saw Kaji standing in front of them.

"We're going home now," Kaji replied with a smile. Mari and Asuka both got up from the bench and followed Kaji through the lobby. "So, Kaji, tomorrow, Mari and I are gonna do some shopping for school uniforms. Wanna come with us?" Asuka asked him.

"Well, I'd like to, but I just got my new schedule, and I've gotta be back here tomorrow afternoon," Kaji replied.

"Aw!" Mari whined.

"Hey, you girls will be fine. I trust you to take care of yourselves and not go overboard with your spending," Kaji said reassuringly. "After all, it's your own money you'll be spending, not mine," Kaji added with a snicker and a shit-eating grin.

"Aw, but how are we gonna make you go broke!?" Mari pouted playfully.

"You won't," Kaji said with a smile, just before Asuka looked around the corridor they had entered.

"Um, Kaji? I think we're going the wrong way," Asuka said as she pointed to a sign on the wall. Kaji looked at the sign and read it to himself.

"Well, this won't taking us to the parking garage at all," he said thoughtfully before he turned around, Asuka and Mari following him.

"So, when do we get to meet the other pilots?" Asuka asked.

"Well, I think we live in the same apartment building as them, so you'll probably meet them tomorrow," Kaji said as he led that girls back into the lobby and over to the proper hallway.

"What are their names again?" Asuka asked, having forgotten to read up on the pilots of the Japan Branch before leaving for Tokyo-3.

"They are Rei Ayanami and Shinji Ikari, both recently promoted to the rank of Corporal after the battle with the Fifth Angel," Kaji replied.

"Ikari? That's the name of the Commander. So, I take it he's a daddy's boy?" Asuka asked.

"Not from what I've heard. Apparently, the two Ikaris don't get along very well. Their relationship is... kind of similar to the one between you and... your own father," Kaji said hesitantly.

Asuka's eyes widened in realization. "So... the Commander wants nothing to do with his own son? Aside from having him pilot the Eva?" Asuka asked.

"That's what I've heard," Kaji replied as they continued walking.

"That's... harsh," Asuka said softly.

"Yeah... not exactly the best of relationships," Kaji said in agreement.

The rest of the trip to the parking garage was quiet. Mari listened to her music as Kaji led them to the car, while Asuka silently stewed in her own thoughts, the mentioning of her father having brought back some rather unpleasant memories. She tried to ignore them as she and Mari kept following Kaji to the garage, but the memories of being neglected would not go away. Neither would the connected memories of her own mother shunning her and replacing her with a doll.

* * *

**RECREATION CENTER 8-04, Level B-08, NERV HQ, Later That Evening...**

Makoto Hyuga watched as Misato emptied her third cup of beer. "You know, Captain, I think you should slow down a bit there," Makoto said worriedly.

"Nonsense! I've got a good buzz goin'!" Misato chirped happily in response, a big smile plastered on her face. Sitting next to Makoto, Maya gingerly sipped her own drink, while Ritsuko smirked at Misato as she leaned back while ordering another beer, nearly falling off of the stool in the process before she caught herself.

Maya held a small wad of cash in one hand, while Ritsuko held a small wad in one of her own hands, both women having made a bet on how long Misato would last before she got completely plastered. "O _ne more after this and she'll be toast_ ," Maya whispered.

" _Please. She'll go at least five more drinks before she calls it a night. Just you watch_ ," Ritsuko whispered back at Maya.

Ritsuko had known Misato since college, and she'd witnessed first hand just how much alcohol Misato could handle. Hell, she'd even had a few drinking competitions with Misato herself before she had been forced to cash in her credits and graduate early after receiving her first clandestine assignment from Gendo Ikari back when NERV was still GEHIRN. Making bets with people on how much beer Misato could consume was just a way for her to collect some easy money at this point.

" _You're on_ ," Maya whispered back with a grin. It was a challenge from the younger woman, who rarely displayed such a game face. The liquor must have made her less inhibited. Were they making bets on anything else, Ritsuko would have found Maya's boldness endearing. As it was... she pitied the poor girl for just how much money she was going to lose.

Five drinks later and nine drinks total, Misato was finally hammered and more than capable of falling flat on her face without the need to be pushed from behind. As such, Makoto was currently helping Misato walk away from the counter, with Ritsuko having used some of Maya's hard-lost cash to pay for Misato's drinks. Makoto had one of Misato's arms draped over his shoulder while he had his right arm snaked behind her back to hold her by the waist.

"Come on, I'll get ya home," Makoto said to the intoxicated Misato, who just giggled in response with rosy cheeks.

"Ho-ho-home!" Misato laughed.

"Yeah. Home," Makoto said, rolling his eyes. Misato then started humming some unknown tune to herself as Makoto helped her walk through the corridors and over to an elevator, eventually taking them up to the parking garage.

Makoto kept his eyes facing forward, but once in a while, he would glance over at Misato and see those rosy cheeks and that big grin plastered on her face while she drunkenly hummed some nondescript tune to herself. When they eventually reached Misato's blue Renault Alpine A310, Makoto let out a sigh of relief. When Misato saw the car, she let out a gurgle and a squeal of happiness.

"Yay! My baby! My beautiful blueeeecghh!" Misato let out before she threw up on the pavement, Makoto holding her hair out of the way.

"That's it. Just... let it all out," Makoto said softly as Misato emptied her stomach contents on to the garage floor.  _This way, she shouldn't need to throw up while in her car_ , Makoto thought to himself. Seeing the opportunity, he retrieved her car keys before unlocking the car doors.

As gently as he could, Makoto helped ease Misato into the back seat of the car and laid her down before strapping her in with both sets of seat belts. Misato just looked around with a groan before closing her eyes and falling asleep.  _I sure hope no one looks in the back and thinks I've kidnapped her_ , Makoto thought to himself worriedly as he closed the door and got up in the front of the car. While Makoto didn't own a car himself, he  _did_  have a driver's license. He just rarely needed to use it.

* * *

**The Parking Lot Of The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment, Some Time Later...**

Opening the door to the back seat, Makoto carefully undid the seat belts and tried to wake Misato up. "Come on, Misato, you need to wake up, just until we get to your apartment," Makoto said pleadingly. Misato wouldn't budge. "Please, Misato, you need to wake up. It'll only be for a little bit," Makoto pleaded again, this time gently placing his hands on Misato's shoulders and trying to gently shake her awake.

"Uh... wha?" Misato asked groggily as she looked around the interior of her car, disoriented.

"Misato, we're at your apartment building. We just need to get up to your apartment and then you can go back to sleep," Makoto said.

"Shleep shounds good," Misato slurred with a smile.

"Yes, but you have to get into your bed first," Makoto said.

"Mm, okayyy," Misato said with a yawn, sending the stench of beer and an unwashed mouth into Makoto's face. He grimaced but remained in place as he helped Misato sit up before helping her climb out of the car. He made sure to close the doors and lock them with the key fob as soon as Misato was fully outside the car.

"That's right. Just one foot in front of the other," Makoto said as he draped Misato's right arm over his shoulders and held it in place while snaking his left arm around her waist. "We'll take the elevator so you can get to bed quicker," Makoto said.

"Oh,  _bed_ ," Misato said with a grin.

"I... I like bed," Misato said drunkenly.

"We all do," Makoto said as he humored her.

"It... it... it feel nice," Misato said happily. Slowly, the duo made their way into the first hallway of the building before reaching one of the elevators, passing by a room full of third-shift Section 2 agents along the way. The agents recognized Makoto and allowed him to carry Misato to the elevator undisturbed.

Entering the elevator, Makoto released his hold on Misato's waist, missing the brief look of disappointment flashing across her face, and pressed the button to take them up to the floor where her apartment was located. Listening to the sound of the elevator rising, Makoto chanced a look over at Misato's face. Even when drunk, he still found her beautiful, especially with those cheeks being rosy and her eyes being soft instead of glaring.

As if some unknown force had controlled her, Misato turned her head to face Makoto's and she smiled at him. Makoto smiled back before hearing the loud DING that signaled the elevator arriving at their destination. Carefully walking through the corridor, Makoto and Misato soon happened upon the door to her apartment. Carefully reaching into Misato's jacket, Makoto retrieved Misato's house key.

"Hm, tryin' ta' have your way with me?" Misato asked him cheekily. She soon hiccuped before letting out a giggle.

"Just getting your keys," Makoto said as he finally found said key and inserted it into the lock. Misato watched him insert the key with half-lidded eyes as a jumbled mess of scenarios ran through her head, all of them being distorted and incoherent in her drunken state.

After opening the door and stepping inside, Makoto now had to figure out how to take his and Misato's shoes off without her falling onto the floor in a heap and passing out again. Realizing that it wouldn't be possible, Makoto let out a defeated sigh and decided to simply help carry Misato through the apartment. "We're almost there, Misato," Makoto said as they passed through the kitchen, just before he noticed a penguin looking at him curiously.

"What the... oh right. She's mentioned you now and again," Makoto said as he looked at Pen-Pen. "Your name is... Penny?" Makoto asked hesitantly. Pen-Pen narrowed his eyes at Makoto and shook his head. "Um... it has Pen in it, I know that," Makoto said, before one of Misato's giggles caught his attention.

"Ish... ish dat Pen-Pen?" Misato asked as Makoto turned slightly to give Misato a better look at her feathered companion.

"Wark!" Pen-Pen replied.

"Hi, Pen-Pen!" Misato said with a clumsy and sluggish wave of her free hand.

"Right,  _Pen-Pen_. Gotta remember that," Makoto said with a nod of his head before he continued helping Misato through the kitchen.

"Nighty-night, Pen-Pen!" Misato called out drunkenly. Pen-Pen simply stared at the duo with an unreadable expression on his face and beak before he waddled over to the fridge and pulled out some leftovers from the dinner Shinji had cooked earlier.

It was basically noodles and vegetables, since Shinji's testing of Misato's cooking via one extremely stupid Kensuke Aida had proven that Misato had not learned a damn thing from any of his cooking lessons. Either that, or Kensuke was simply allergic to something in the food. In either case, Shinji and Rei had both agreed upon the decision to simply throw away the food for fear of their own safety rather than risk getting themselves or anyone else sick.

Placing some of the noodles and vegetables on a plate, Pen-Pen then put the remaining leftovers back in the fridge before opening a secret compartment in the fridge and retrieving a bottle of imported Guinness. He carefully poured himself a small amount in a cup before placing the container back in the fridge and closing both the compartment door and the fridge door. He then looked at the noodles and dug in with just his beak.

Meanwhile, Makoto had finally gotten Misato into her bedroom. "Here we go," he said as he carefully walked over to her futon and gently knelt down. "Y-You're sho shweet, Makoto," Misato slurred with a smile as Makoto helped her. Letting his grip on her waist and arm begin to loosen, Makoto carefully allowed Misato to slip down onto the futon. Just as she was almost off of him, she hooked her arms around him and pulled him down on top of her.

"Mm,  _my_  Makoto!" Misato chirped drunkenly.

"Uh, M-Misato!" Makoto cried out in surprise as the drunk woman tried nuzzling him.

"M-Mine!" she repeated with a big cheesy smile on her face.

"M-Misato, please!" Makoto pleaded as he struggled against her grip, not bothering to correct himself on using her name instead of her rank. Even when drunk, the woman was still strong enough to carry an ox. "Misato, please, I have to get to my own apartment and get ready for work tomorrow," Makoto pleaded quietly.

Misato refused to let go. "N-No. My Makoto!  _Mine!_ " Misato retorted drunkenly before she pressed her face against his chest, humming contently with a smile. Makoto let out a sigh and decided to simply wait her out. Eventually, Misato's grip began to slack as she drifted off to the far away hills and valleys of slumber land. Soon, once Misato's grip had lost enough of its strength, Makoto was able to disentangle himself from her and stand up.

Closing his eyes and letting out a brief sigh, Makoto slowly shook his head. "You sure are a hassle sometimes, Misato," he said as he rubbed the back of his head with one hand. "But... I don't mind it too much," he said softly. He briefly considered kneeling back down to give her a peck on the forehead, but thought better of it. They didn't have  _that_  kind of relationship. They were just friends, at least for now, and he wouldn't give her a kiss of any kind without her explicit permission. He respected Misato far too much to take advantage of her in this kind of situation.

Slowly turning around, Makoto began to walk away, only to stop after feeling something tugging on his left pant leg. "Huh?" Glancing back down, Makoto saw Misato clutching his pant leg with one hand, her other hand balled into a fist with her thumb in her mouth. Makoto wished he had a camera just then, as Misato looked absolutely adorable. Reluctantly crouching down, Makoto gently pried Misato's hand from his pant leg.

"Abbadababa," Misato cooed while keeping her thumb in her mouth.  _That is just... too... adorable_ , Makoto thought to himself. "Good night, Misato. I'll see you at work tomorrow," Makoto said quietly to the sleeping woman. He crept over to the corner of the room and grabbed a blanket. Making his way back over to Misato, he gently draped the blanket over her before turning around, stopping in his tracks as he saw Pen-Pen standing in the doorway.

"I-I'm just leaving," Makoto said to the bird. Pen-Pen nodded his head and waddled away from Makoto, leading the man back through the living room and over through the kitchen, where a glass of some dark liquid sat next to a plate of half-eaten noodles and vegetables on the dinner table. "Wark," Pen-Pen said in... what could have been interpreted as a grateful tone. Makoto wasn't sure. So, he simply nodded his head at the penguin and walked out the door, carefully closing it behind him.

Making his way down the hall, Makoto pulled out his cell phone and called for a taxi to come pick him up. As he entered the elevator, he leaned back and sighed. If Misato hadn't been drunk, he would have been elated at hearing her call him  _her Makoto_. But, the woman's obvious drunkenness put a damper on that, meaning that the sincerity of her thoughts and feelings regarding him were pretty much all speculation. "Well, a man can dream," Makoto said before he exited the elevator and made his way out through the lobby to stand outside and wait for his cab.

* * *

**NERV HQ, Saturday Evening, September 20, 2042...**

Staring at the stream of data on the monitor in front of her, Ritsuko sighed and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. "When was the last time you slept?" a male voice asked her. Her eyes snapped open and she looked up to see the face of a man with bad shaving habits.

"Ryoji, I didn't expect you here so soon," Ritsuko said.

"Liar," Kaji retorted playfully as he stepped around her chair and leaned back against a terminal. "So, anything unusual with Mari and Asuka's sync ratios?" Kaji asked her. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow.

"Straight to business? No flirting?" Ritsuko asked him suspiciously.

"Hey, I've had to take care of two girls for the last nine years. That kind of thing wears a guy out after a while. Besides, I shouldn't need to tell a beautiful woman that she's beautiful. It should be quite obvious," Kaji replied smoothly.

Ritsuko blushed at the compliment. "You always did know the right thing to say," she said with a smile.

"Oh, I know what the ladies like," Kaji replied with a smirk.

"I'm sure that you do," Ritsuko replied with a chuckle.

"So, where's-" Kaji was cut off as the door to Ritsuko's lab slid open. Stepping inside, Misato looked at Ritsuko before she finally noticed the newcomer.

"Kaji? I was wondering when you'd show up. I didn't see you at all yesterday," Misato said with a smile as she walked over and hugged the man before stepping back. Kaji looked at her in bewilderment.

"Well... that was... unexpected," Kaji said.

"Just a hello hug. It's been several years since the last time we saw each other," Misato replied.

"Yeah, it's just... you made it clear the last time we met that we... were finished," Kaji said.

"Yes, I did. And we still are. That doesn't mean I can't be affectionate with a friend," Misato said.

Kaji raised an eyebrow at Misato as he digested her words. Soon, a spark of intuition lit up in his head. "Hm, so... who's the lucky guy?" Kaji asked her with a smirk.

Misato blinked at him in surprise. "W-What? What guy?" she asked him, flustered. "Come on, there's gotta be someone around here who's caught your eye. I mean, you've been here for how long now?" Kaji asked her in response.

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about, okay? Th-There's no one here that I'm involved with, got? No one," Misato said, placing her hands on her hips.

"If you say so," Kaji said, rolling his eyes in disbelief. "So, I hear that you're the current guardian of both pilots of Eva units Zero  _and_  One. That must be quite a hassle," Kaji said, changing the subject.

"Well, not really. Shinji's more responsible than I am most of the time, and Rei is pretty quiet most of the time. Neither of them really cause much trouble," Misato said. "In fact, the only time I can think of either of them getting into trouble at home was due to  _someone else_ ," Misato said as she sent a glare in Ristuko's direction. Ritsuko merely rolled her eyes in response.

"Rits? What did you do?" Kaji asked the scientist.

"I just gave Rei a box of cereal we've been developing," Ritsuko explained.

"Yeah, cereal that  _catches fire_  when exposed to  _milk!_ " Misato added with a glare. Kaji blinked in surprise as he looked back and forth between Misato and Ritsuko.

"Um... I seem to be lost here. Cereal that catches on fire when exposed to milk? I... I need to hear about this from the beginning," Kaji said as he took a seat across from Ritsuko.

Ritsuko then let out a sigh. "Well, if you must know..."

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Shopping Mall, Sunday, September 21, 2042**

Inside the mall's arcade, Toji grinned as he landed another skee-ball in the middle hole. "Yes!" he said with a fist and a grin as he saw his score up on the board. "I'm still da king! Hail to da king, baby!" Toji boasted before he collected the tickets from the machine.

Standing behind Toji, Sakura giggled at her older brother. She was wearing a white blouse and a blue skirt, along with a red clip in her short-cut brown hair. "All hail Toji!" Sakura joked, causing Toji to blush.

"I... I wasn't bein' serious," Toji said meekly in embarrassment. Sakura simply smiled before looking around the arcade, before her eyes settled on a racing game simulator.

Sakura quickly grabbed Toji by the sleeve of his track suit, of which he had several spares, and dragged him over to the racing game. Meanwhile, over by an air-hockey table, Kensuke watched as Shinji and Rei became locked in a duel. Kensuke watched intently as the plastic puck shot back and forth over the table, its speed almost making it a blur to the naked eye.

Because of Kensuke's intense concentration, he failed to notice the two females who had just entered the arcade. In fact, so intense was his concentration that he didn't even notice the red-haired one as she marched past him over to a fighting game console. The other girl had gone in a different direction from the red-head.

Meanwhile, a few minutes later, Sakura let out a victorious squeal as she finished her racing game. "All right! High score! High score!" Sakura repeated with a grin before she stepped out of the fake car used for the game. "Okay, Toji! Your turn again!" Sakura chirped at her brother.

Toji looked around and spotted a fighting game nearby. He grinned as he marched over to it, pulling out his token coins and counting them. He had plenty on hand for multiple matches against the machine, or if luck would have it, another player. Stepping in front of the machine, Toji saw a fist shoot up into the air from the other side, where the other person playing against the machine was standing. They had a cap on their head, but Toji didn't care what they looked like anyway. As long as he got to play against another person, he was satisfied.

"Hey, wanna place against another person? My treat," Toji said to the unseen player. They held out their hand with a thumbs-up gesture. Toji grinned in response. "Okay, start 'er up!" Toji called out to the other player as he inserted his coins and selected the player versus player option on the screen before choosing a fighter. "This is gonna be good," Toji said with a grin as the screen soon faded to black before showing a large aircraft arena. Toji saw that he was Player 2, while the other person was already selected as Player 1.

"Get ready to lose!" Toji jeered with a grin as he made his fighter leap forward using the joystick and control buttons on the machine's console section.

Two minutes later... " **PLAYER ONE WINS. NEXT ROUND START!** "

Three minutes later... " **PLAYER ONE WINS. NEXT ROUND START!** "

Two minutes later... " **PLAYER TWO WINS. NEXT ROUND START!** "

One minute later... " **PLAYER ONE WINS. NEXT ROUND START!** "

Two Minutes Later... " **PLAYER ONE WINS. NEXT ROUND START!** "

Two minutes later... " **PLAYER ONE WINS. GAME OVER**."

Toji's mouth hung upen as he stared at the screen aghast. "N-No... no way," he mumbled in disbelief. "Wow! You got your butt kicked!" Sakura stated. "Y-Yeah," Toji said. He glanced around and saw that the other player was still there at the machine. Letting his anger at being beaten get to him, Toji pulled out more tokens. "Hey! Let's have a rematch!" Toji yelled over to the other person.

They responded with a thumbs up and what sounded like a feminine chuckle. "All right, let's dance!" Toji growled as he repeated the same process from earlier. This time, he chose a different fighter. As soon as the round started, Toji sent his fighter forward.

Ten minutes later... " **PLAYER ONE WINS. GAME OVER.** "

"You gotta be kiddin' me," Toji muttered in disbelief. Stepping over to the side of the machine, Toji walked over to the other side to see just who it was who had trounced him. "Hey, who are you any..." Toji trailed off as he saw the red hair hanging down over a flight jacket. Staring him in the eyes was a girl his age. In addition to the flight jacket over top what looked like a red T-shirt, she was also wearing a pair of blue jeans and white running shoes. Aside from her choice in clothes, Toji also noticed that she had a physical appearance that screamed exotic, yet also familiar. She was half-Japanese and half-European, Toji realized as the girl looked at him with arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.

"Yes?" she asked in fluent Japanese.

"I-I-I... uh, y-you... what happened to the guy I was playin' against?" Toji asked.

The girl narrowed her eyes at him. "You're looking at her," she said with a frown.

"No way," Toji said. All of the girls that he knew hated playing violent fighting games, or so they would always claim when asked. "You're jokin' right? Come on, where'd the guy go?" Toji asked.

Behind him Sakura shook her head in dismay at her brother's attitude. "So old fashioned," she muttered.

"Look, I already told you,  _I_  beat you," the girl said. Toji, being the neanderthal that he was, could not help but stick his foot into his mouth.

"No! No way a girl like you coulda' beaten me in that game!" Toji retorted, his pride having taken a serious blow from so many losses. The girl's frown deepened and a scowl appeared on her face.

"A girl like me? What  _exactly_  is that supposed to mean?" she asked him dangerously.

"Look, everybody knows that girls hate violent games like dis one, so where's the guy who actually beat me? 'Cause there's no way that it was a flower like you," Toji responded, denial having taken over his brain.

The girl began pushing back the sleeves on her jacket as she balled her hands into fists. "Well, if you aren't satisfied having your ass kicked in a  _video game_ , maybe you'd like to have it kicked in the  _real world too?_ " she asked him with a sadistic grin on her face.

It was right then, Toji realized, that he'd fucked up.

Meanwhile, Shinji and Rei were busy watching Kensuke play a shooting game, their arms still sore from their intense air-hockey matches. Rei soon found her attention diverted from Kensuke's marksmanship when she heard a series of footsteps approaching from behind, their manner suggestive of someone attempting to sneak up on them. Rei quickly turned around to see a girl with brunette hair tied into two long pigtails, not dissimilar to those of fellow classmate Hikari Horaki, albeit much longer and flowing down her shoulders. The brunette was wearing what looked like a flight jacket along with a skirt. The girl had a pair of red glasses on her face, and she appeared to be only half-Japanese. Something about the girl seemed familiar, however, and Rei struggled to figure out why that was.

As the girl walked up to Rei, she leaned forward. Rei looked at her curiously, before the girl started sniffing her. Rei's eyes widened in surprise at this action.

"Yes! I win again!" Kensuke exclaimed happily. "No stomach problems can stop me today!" he added, not-so-subtly reminding Shinji that he was still recovering from his ingestion of Misato's cooking on Friday. Shinji smiled nervously in response.

"Y-Yeah. Just, uh, as long as you don't hold that against anyone," Shinji added before he noticed that they had been joined by a newcomer.

"Huh? Uh, who are..." Shinji asked, just before the girl noticed him and moved forward to invade his personal space and sniff him as well.

"Hm... LCL," she said softly with a strange smile on her face, before her eyes widened. "You're a pilot!" she grinned.

"Excuse me?" Shinji asked her in response.

"You smell like LCL, just like her," the girl said, pointing at Rei.

"So, that means... you're Eva pilots," the girl concluded. "Just like me," she added.

"J-Just like you?" Shinji asked in confusion.

"Yup! The name's Mari Illustrious Makinami, pilot of Evangelion Production Model Unit Five!" Mari said proudly as she introduced herself.

"But you are not scheduled to arrive in Japan until December," Rei said, perplexed by this girl's appearance in Japan. She had read Mari's file earlier that year, and Commander Ikari had informed her of the original scheduled date for the two European pilots' arrival. Mari turned to look at Rei.

"Well, after the appearance of three Angels in a row, Commander Ikari contacted the German Branch and requested that we arrive early," Mari explained.

"I see... but why did he not inform me?" Rei asked herself quietly. The Commander had  _always_  kept her in the loop in regards to these things before, so why had he not done so this time?  _Have I somehow offended the Commander? Have I... done something wrong? Does he not see me as being trustworthy with this kind of information anymore? Why? Why would the Commander not inform me?_

Rei soon reached a hand up to her mouth and began chewing on her finger nails unconsciously, drawing Shinji's attention. "Rei? Are you all right?" Shinji asked her, having not seen the girl do this before. "Rei?" Shinji asked again, this time snapping Rei out of her funk. Rei looked at Shinji with wide eyes, before glancing down at her hand.  _Why is my hand... what was I doing?_

"So, anyway, I take it you guys are... Shinji Ikari and... Rei Ayame?" Mari asked.

"Rei  _Ayanami_ ," Rei corrected her.

"Right. Ayanami, like that navy ship from decades past," Mari said. "So, anyway, Asuka and I got called over here early because of all of the Angel activity," Mari said.

"Pilot Sohryu is with you?" Rei asked her.

"Technically, it's  _Warrant Officer_  Sohryu and  _Warrant Officer_  Makinami, but since we aren't on duty, I'll let it slide," Mari said. "By the way, what are your current ranks?" Mari asked, oblivious to the drooling military otaku staring at her.

"Corporal. We were both promoted to Corporal following Operation Yashima," Shinji said carefully.

"Well, I'd say you earned it. I heard you were boiled like a lobster," Mari said, causing Shinji to frown.

"That's... where did you hear that from?" Shinji asked her. He didn't like thinking about that incident.

"Oh, Kaji told me about what happened after he read the report," Mari replied. "So, who's  _this_  fella?" Mari asked as she finally noticed Kensuke staring at her.

"I-I-I-I'm... K-K-Kensuke Aida," Kensuke reported, blushing as the exotic and beautiful foreign girl spoke to him.

"So, K-K-Kensuke Aida, you come here often?" Mari asked him teasingly.

"Uh... y-yeah," Kensuke replied with a nervous chuckle.

"This is only my second time here. Asuka and I came here yesterday to grab some new clothes for school... and to replace what Asuka lost during the Angel attack on the way here," Mari said.

"There was another Angel attack?" Shinji asked her.

"Mm-hm. While the UN Fleet was escorting us to Japan, we were attacked by the Sixth Angel, so Asuka hopped into Unit Two and took it down. Of course, the Angel ended up destroying nearly a third of the fleet before she managed to kill it, but... hey, at least we got it," Mari said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Warrant Officer Sohryu was deployed on her own? Why were you not deployed in your Evangelion alongside her?" Rei asked Mari.

"Unit Five didn't have the special water-type equipment attached to it, so if it had been knocked into the water, it would've sunk," Mari replied. "Unit Two, on the other hand,  _was_  equipped with the special gear, so it was able to fight the Angel on even footing, so to speak," Mari explained.

"Speaking of the red devil, where the hell is she?" Mari asked as she looked around. "Oh well, I'm sure we'll find her again at some point. Anyway I'm getting kind of hungry, and I'm sure that the food court will be a much more pleasant location for getting to know one another, wouldn't you all agree?" Mari asked them.

"Um... s-sure. Food, yes, good, I like," Kensuke blabbered.

Mari raised an eyebrow at the boy before turning to look at Rei and Shinji. "Is there something wrong with him?" Mari asked them.

"He ate some of Misato's cooking the other day," Shinji said.

"Misato? That name sounds familiar. Hm... Misato... Misato... Misato... oh! She came to visit us in New Berlin once a few years back," Mari said. "Real nice lady. I think she and Kaji had a history together at some point," Mari commented.

"But, anyway, you were saying something about Misato's cooking?" Mari asked him.

"Um... Misato isn't a very... um... her cooking skills are... how do I say this politely?" Shinji wondered out loud.

"Captain Katsuragi's attempts at cooking often have harmful results for the intended consumers of her food," Rei explained.

"Fascinating. So, I'm gonna go find Asuka and then we can all head out to get some food and get to know each other better. We are all Eva pilots, after all. Now, if I can just remember which direction she went in," Mari said.

" ** _Komm zurück, du Schwein!_** " a female voice yelled out through the arcade. Mari and the others turned their heads to see Toji being chased by an angry red-headed German girl.

"Oh, there she is," Mari said with a smile as she watched Asuka chase Toji towards the arcade's exit.

" _ **Ich werde dir in den Arsch treten!**_ " Asuka yelled at the boy as he ran from her.

"Go, Toji! Run for your life!" Sakura shouted at her brother. Letting out a sigh, Sakura then sadly shook her head. "Sorry, Nii-chan, but with the way you acted towards that girl, you totally brought this upon yourself," she muttered before looking down at the tokens and tickets that she had procured from Toji before he'd been sent running.

Toji ran as fast as his legs could carry him, ducking and weaving through the thongs of people in the mall. "Oh, man! Why can't I ever keep my damn mouth shut!?" he whined as he turned a corner. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw that the red devil was right behind him. "Oh shit!" Toji blurted as he saw how close she was to him.

She was a predator chasing her prey through a human jungle. Every passing shopper was an obstacle for both of them to overcome by running around, leaping behind, or in Toji's case, grabbing to put in between himself and the angry female. Every stand was both a potential safe spot and a potential dead end for the girl to corner him. No matter how much his legs burned, Toji forced himself to keep moving, constantly checking over his shoulders to see how much distance he'd been able to put between himself and the girl.

The red devil had a terrifying grin plastered on her face as she chased Toji, her eyes narrowed with burning anger. Toji's heart slammed against his ribcage as he forced himself to leap over a small toddler and roll over as he landed before shooting back up, his legs constantly moving. It was a perfect 10/10 performance.

Asuka followed shortly after, simply by weaving herself around the kid's parents to avoid the child herself.  _When I get my hands on him, oh... he is gonna get it_ , Asuka thought to herself as she kept the black jacket of the boy in her line of sight. As she continued chasing him, constantly dodging and weaving around the other shoppers, she soon saw him make a right turn into a store. She quickly followed him, only to be blocked by a gaggle of girls her age with bags of clothing.

Toji quickly ran through the clothes shop before seeing a circular rack. A light-bulb lit up in his head and he quickly pulled some of the shirts apart from each other before shoving himself into the interior of the rack, placing the shirts back in their place. Forcing himself to huddle and hunker down as he tried to keep hidden, Toji attempted to slow down his breathing as he listened to the sounds of people shopping around him.

He looked down at the space between the floor and the bottom of the shirts, watching as various shoe and even sandal-covered feet walked by. As his breathing evened out, he began to calm down, until he heard a female growl nearby. His heart-rate began to increase, and as he saw a shadow approaching the shirt rack, Toji forced his hands over his mouth to cover the gasp he almost let out.

His heart hammered against his ribcage, pounding against it like a steady drumbeat.  _Tha-Thump! Tha-thump! Tha-thump! Tha-thump!_  Toji's eyes widened in fear as he saw the running shoes of the girl get closer to the bottom of the rack. He heard her growl again in frustration as she searched for him. She stopped moving as she scanned the store, and Toji waited in terror for the girl to leave.

Nearly a minute passed before the shadow moved away, and the girl disappeared. Toji soon let out a sigh of relief before he reached out and parted the shirts on the rack, carefully stepping out of his hole. After glancing to his left and his right, Toji smiled. He had evaded the demoness with his skin intact. As he stepped forward, he heard a cough coming from behind him.

He glanced over his shoulder to see the German girl looking at him with her arms crossed and a knowing smile on her face. "Fooled you," she said with a grin. Toji's smile instantly evaporated and turned into a frown. He then pointed over to Asuka's right. "Hey, what's that!?" he asked, causing the girl to glance in that direction. Toji then darted forward, dodging the other customers as he ran like hell.

As he exited the store and made another turn, he glanced back over his shoulder, only to gasp in fright as he saw the girl right behind him. "You can't get away that easily!" she yelled at him in fluent Japanese. "Why!?" Toji cried out as he ran through more throngs of people, eventually nearing the food court.

Approacing the food court, Toji stepped onto a bench and leapt over a potted plant next to a trash bin. Using his momentum, Toji slid across the floor and under a rail before getting up as the girl leapt over the rail behind him. Toji leapt to the side of a pulled-out chair as he weaved around a table, only for the girl to cut him off and shoot a leg forward, tripping him. Toji fell forward, twisting his body so that he landed sideways with a grunt.

Before Toji could right himself, a foot kicked forward and pushed him onto his back. "Oof!" Toji grunted before looking up at the red-head standing over him. "One chance, punk. Apologize or suffer," she said darkly. Several crowds of people in the food court had turned their attention to the two teenagers, watching the commotion with interest.

Toji gulped, his pride holding him back from making the smart choice. "I..." he started.

"Yes?" she asked him with a smirk. Neither of them noticed the sounds of footsteps approaching from the entrance of the food court. "Well?" Asuka prodded as she pressed down harder. Self-preservation soon kicked in, overriding Toji's crippling sense of pride.

"I... I'm... s-sorry," Toji let out reluctantly. The girl smirked at him and removed her foot from his chest.

"Good. You should be," she replied. She then held out a hand to him. "Get off the floor. Who knows what's been there," she said as Toji stared at her in bewilderment. "Well? Come on, numbnuts," she implored. Toji quickly nodded his head and took her hand before she pulled him up to his feet. As he wiped his jacket to get various dirt and dust off of it, Toji looked the girl in the eyes once more.

"Who... who are you?" he asked her.

The girl said nothing in response and merely smiled at him before turning around and walking away, eventually disappearing into the crowds of people beyond the food court. Looking around at the various people who were staring at him, Toji gulped before waving at them. "J-Just a... misunderstanding, folks! That's all," Toji said sheepishly before he started walked away from the food court, only to be stopped by Shinji, Rei, Kensuke, Sakura, and another half-European girl.

"Hi, my name's Mari! Wanna get something to eat?" the girl asked him.

Toji's only response was to inhale slowly and nod his head.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 High School, Monday, September 22, 2042**

Sitting down at his desk, Shinji listened as Toji once again regaled him and Kensuke with his tale of the red devil chasing him. "I thought I was a goner, for sure!" Toji added.

"Well, next time you'll remember that this is the twenty-first century," Shinji said.

"Pfft. Next time? I'm hoping I never have to see that girl again! She was fucking scary, man!" Toji replied. A knowing look soon appeared on Shinji's face before he glanced over at the doorway to the classroom.

"Uh, Toji? You may want to keep your voice down," Shinji said.

Soon, Hikari ordered all of the students to get into their seats. As they did, Toji noticed two people standing in the doorway of the room, and his eyes bugged out when he recognized one of them. The first one, a brunette girl with red glasses, stepped forward and wrote her name on the board.

"My name is Mari Illustrious Makinami. I just moved here from New Berlin, in Germany. I look forward to getting to know all of you," she said in fluent Japanese before she walked over to an empty seat and sat down. Next, a familiar red-head stepped forward and wrote her name on the board as well, in English.

The girl turned around and scanned the classroom, her eyes soon falling on Toji. She grinned as she saw his face blanch. "My name... is Asuka Langley Sohryu. I also just moved here from New Berlin, Germany. I look forward to getting to know all of you as well."

* * *

**ENDING THEME: Everything You've Ever Dreamed, by ARIANNE**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, the Angel Israfel appears, and after suffering a humiliating defeat from the creature, the pilots are forced to endure an unorthodox training regimen in order to defeat it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: And this was Episode 7. This was actually quite fun to write, and as you can tell, Misato and Kaji have a very different relationship from NGE and Rebuild.
> 
> So, start placing your bets on who gets partnered up with each other in the next episode to defeat Israfel, because I won't be sticking to canon for that battle.
> 
> And, if no one else got it in episode 5, yes, Rei is a clone of Ritsuko and Lilith. I shot myself in the foot when I described Rei's mole, so I might as well just come out and say it. However, please keep in mind that only Ritsuko knows that she's the human DNA donor for Rei. Gendo still believes that Rei was cloned from the salvaged remains of Yui, while Rei believes that she is a clone of Lilith and the original Rei, or Rei I, who she thinks was a normal human girl who died while very young.
> 
> So, just like the original series, everyone is lying to everyone about everything.
> 
> Also, some portions of this chapter are indeed influenced by the NGE manga by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, specifically the other pilots meeting Asuka in an arcade.
> 
> Also, My decision to list the use of music from The Terminator is actually a reference to a rather famous gag dub of Evangelion: Death and Rebirth (1997) called Evangelion: Re-Death, where Asuka was given a voice like Arnold Schwarzenegger's with the Terminator theme or a Terminator-like theme playing in the background during her introduction. You can find this gag dub on YouTube.
> 
> And, one last mention, some of Kaji's dialogue with Ritsuko is taken straight from Halo 2, because that game is so fucking quotable.
> 
> As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of the episode and/or story so far in your reviews. They're always appreciated.


	8. It Takes Four To Tango

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With four pilots in Japan, a new Angel makes its appearance, and its unusual abilities force the pilots to learn how to work together in order to achieve victory.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

So, as you all may have noticed, Asuka is now much more... relatable, so to speak? She still has a temper, but it's much less crazy than before, and Asuka is a much less hateful person as well. She still hates dolls, of course, but as you'll soon see in this episode, she is no longer the impulsive attention seeker that she was in NGE. She does, however, have a slight authority complex.

Anyway, if the last episode was any indication, Misato no longer loves Kaji in a romantic manner. She still cares about him, but she just doesn't feel for him in that way anymore. She doesn't exactly  _love_  Hyuga either at this point, but she does have some very slowly developing feelings for the guy. So, this story may end up having the extremely rare Misato/Makoto pairing in it, because I don't think I've seen any stories out there with this actual pairing it in, and I mean that in the sense of Misato/Makoto being a  _couple_  pairing, not just that these two share a major presence in the story.

Also, speaking of unusual pairings, Asuka will get together with Kensuke a few chapters from now.

...

...

...

Ha! Just kidding. No, she won't. She doesn't get together with Shinji either, but she most definitely does not get together with Kensuke by the time the story is over, although that would certainly be an interesting pairing to see someone write about at some point.

Music that I listened to while writing this episode includes  _Diebuster Original Soundtrack_  (2006) by Kohei Tanaka,  _Neon Gensis Evangelion Original Soundtrack_  Volumes 1 - 3 (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu & Masamichi Amano & Yoichi Murata,  _Refrain, Songs Inspired by Evangelion_  (2005), and  _The Fifth Element_  (1997) by Eric Serra.

Music From  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _Good, Or Don't Be_ ,  _The Heady Feeling Of Freedom_ ,  _Misato_ ,  _Harbinger Of Tragedy_ ,  _Infantile Dependence & Adult Dependency_,  _When I Find Peace Of Mind_.

Music From  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1997):  _OP-1 Strings_ ,  _B-22 A Type - Fly Me To The Moon_ ,  _B-22 B-Type_ ,  _B-22 C-Type_ ,  _B-16 Misato Rhythm Only_ ,  _B-9 No Rhythm_ ,  _A-11 Synth Voice Only_ ,  _ED-1 B-Type_ ,  _A-8 Angel's Arrival - Quiet and Eerie_ ,  _B-6 Anxiety_ ,  _B-10 Menace And Surprise_ , .

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _F2 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_ ,  _B12 - Both Of You, Dance Like You Want To Win!_ ,  _A01 - Rei I_ ,

Music From  _The Fifth Element_  (1997):  _Plavalaguna_ ,  _Lucia Di Lammermoor_ ,  _The Diva Dance_ ,  _Mangalores_ ,

Music From  _Diebuster_  (2006):  _Inazuma Double Kick_ ,  _Nono_ ,  _Buster Machine's Soul_ ,  _Lal'c Melk Marre_ ,  _Chiko Science_ ,  _Skylark_  (A music box version of the main theme from the original Gunbuster),  _Marineris' Snowfield_ ,  _Decision_ ,  _Clean Up After Yourself_  (A remake of  _Beyond The River Of Time_  from ending of the last episode of the original Gunbuster. It's fucking beautiful, man).

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _ED-1 B-Type_  (Dinner with Ritsuko),  **02**.  _Skylark_  (Ritsuko at home), **03**.  _Angel's Arrival - Quiet and Eerie_  (Israfel appears at Kii Peninsula),  **04**.  _B-6 Anxiety_  (Israfel regenerates and retaliates),  **05**.  _Decision_  (Asuka's dream),  **06**.  _Lucia Di Lammermoor_  (Training begins),  **07**.  _The Diva Dance_  (Training Montage),  **08**.  _B12 - Both Of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!_  (Final assault against Israfel).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**09**.  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 08: It Takes Four To Tango**

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment, Wednesday Evening, November 05, 2042**

Sitting down at the table, Ritsuko Akagi looked at the food in front of her. "Are you... sure this is safe?" she asked Rei. Rei simply nodded her head.

"It is edible and will not cause any harmful effects on our stomachs," Rei replied, her monotone slowly disappearing the more she spoke in sentences of more than three words.

Ritsuko lifted her head as she heard Misato humming as she approached the table and sat down. Ritsuko glanced over at Shinji, and then at Pen-Pen, who was eyeing the food suspiciously. After saying a short prayer, everyone (with the exception of Misato) slowly took their first bite of the food. Misato was already chowing down on the meal she had prepared, while Pen-Pen was carefully pecking at it with his beak.

Taking a small amount of the food into her mouth with a pair of chopsticks, Ritsuko prepared herself for the worst and allowed her tongue to make contact with it.  _Hm... it's not... bad. But it's not very good either. It's kind of... mediocre, I guess? Well, at least it isn't killing me_ , Ritsuko thought to herself as she started eating.

Looking up from his meal as he chewed, Shinji noticed the mole under Ritsuko's left eye, and then glanced over at Rei, taking in the mole under her left eye as well.  _I wonder if Doctor Akagi is related to Rei in some way? Maybe they're distant relatives? Nah. Why am I thinking about this? Lots of people have moles on their faces_ , Shinji thought to himself as he took another bite of Misato's edible but mediocre meal.

Meanwhile, Rei ate the food with no gusto, but no hesitation either.  _I have eaten far worse food than this in the past. It is not as pleasant as the food that Shinji prepares for us, but it is more appetizing than the food I was often given at NERV's medical facilities. At the very least, I do not have to worry about this food combusting when exposed to milk_ , Rei thought to herself as she ate her food.

Pen-Pen nibbled at his food with his beak as he slowly ate it.  _This sucks! Why can't my caretaker ever produce anything worth consuming!? Why do I put up with this infantile female and her constant failures as an adult!? At least the boy and the half-human girl are pleasant to be around. And at least the boy can actually cook_ , Pen-Pen thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Misato simply chowed down on her food without a care.  _This tastes okay! Yeah, I'm getting better! And no one's complaining about the food, so that means they must like it! All right, score one for Misato Katsuragi_ , Misato thought happily to herself as she ate her food.

Soon, the meal was finished, but Misato noticed that there were still leftovers. "Hey, Rits, you wanna take some of this home with you?" Misato asked her friend.

"Uh... no. I... I don't have room in my fridge. You know, gotta keep all that cat food in good condition," Ritsuko lied.

"Yeah, you still haven't shown me any physical  _or_  photographic evidence that you own any cats," Misato said suspiciously.

"Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist," Ritsuko replied.

"Oh, like your dignity?" Misato asked her jokingly. Ritsuko glared at the woman.

"Yes, or perhaps a better example would be your maturity," Ritsuko sniped back, venom laced in her voice.

"At least I have a sense of humor," Misato retorted with a frown.

"It's not a very good one," Ritsuko said, frowning back at her friend.

"At least I have one, unlike you, Miss Workaholic, whose only company at night is a bright purple piece of rubber," Misato shot back with a grin.

"You're stepping on  _thin ice_ , Misato. Furthermore, it's  _blue_ , not purple," Ritsuko said through gritted teeth.

"Sounds like that's the ice's problem," Misato retorted with a smirk.

"Uh, hey, let's not get into a fight while we're in the kitchen, okay?" Shinji said as he tried to diffuse things.

"Fine. I have things I have to take care of at home anyway. I'll be going now. It was nice seeing you, Shinji-kun. You too, Rei-kun," Ritsuko said.

"Wark!" Pen-Pen squawked at her.

"Yes, and I was pleased to see  _you_  most of all, Pen-Pen," Ritsuko said jokingly, rolling her eyes as she stood up and walked away from the table. "Oh, Rei, Shinji? Don't forget that you both have a series of harmonics tests to perform alongside pilots Sohryu and Makinami tomorrow evening after school. I'll be waiting for you then," Ritsuko said before she disappeared around the corner.

When the sound of the apartment door closing reached their ears, Misato let out a sigh. "I thought she'd never leave," Misato said.

"But, Misato,  _you_  invited her over here," Shinji pointed out to her.

"I know, and I regret it," Misato replied as she looked down at the leftovers of her meal. "Hm... I wonder what I can do with these leftovers?" Misato asked out loud.

 _Toss them into the trash_ , Rei thought to herself. "Refrigerate them," she said instead.

"Yeah, and then you can, uh, take them into work tomorrow for lunch," Shinji said in agreement, hoping that Misato would not leave any of her cooking in the fridge for more than a day at the most.

"I guess that's a good idea," Misato said in appreciation.  _Hm... I wonder if Makoto would like this? Maybe I can share it with him tomorrow. Hey, maybe I can share it with Ibuki and Aoba as well! Yeah, I'll give them the leftovers as a treat_ , Misato thought to herself. Because no one had voiced any complaints about her cooking this time, she tragically took that to mean that she had finally made something that people would  _enjoy_  eating. She did not realize that her wards and Ritsuko were simply trying to be polite and avoid hurting her feelings.

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Ritsuko took out a cigarette and a lighter.  _Damn that Misato! She's a terrible cook AND she has the gall to mock me despite everything that I've accomplished since college! I graduated before her and not only did I help my mother develop and complete the MAGI system, but I'm also responsible for Rei's very existence! I'm even working on an automated piloting system for the Evas as well! Not only that, but I have someone to keep my bed warm every other night! While she deliberately keeps the one person who's genuinely interested in her in the Friend Zone because of her fear of commitment, **I'm**  currently shagging Gendo Fucking Ikari, baby! The head honcho of NERV itself! And I HAVE stepped out of my mother's shadow! I-I can prove it! I've accomplished more in my life and at my age than Misato EVER HAS!_

So engrossed in her own thoughts was Ritsuko that she didn't even notice the red-headed girl opening an apartment door in front of her. "Stupid Misaaaaaack!" Ritsuko cried out in pain as she smacked into the open door.

"Oh! Sorry about that! I didn't see you there... Doctor Akagi?" asked Asuka in confusion. Ritsuko held her nose in her hand as she glared at Asuka. "I... I'm sorry. I just didn't see you there," Asuka apologized again as she noticed how the woman was glaring at her.

"It... it's all right, Sohryu-san. Oh, you and Makinami have a harmonics test tomorrow after school. Make sure to remind the other pilots," Ritsuko said tersely as she walked around the girl and down the hallway.

"Sure, I'll... do that. What the hell's her problem?" Asuka asked rhetorically with a raised eyebrow. "Eh, whatever," she said before entering the apartment and closing the door behind her. "I'm back from Hikari's house!" Asuka called out as she took off her shoes and walked into the kitchen. Kaji was busy pouring himself a glass of apple juice as Asuka entered the kitchen, while Mari was nowhere to be seen.

"Guten abend," Asuka said as she walked over to the fridge.

"Guten Abend, Asuka," Kaji replied in fluent German.

"Ja! Das ist gut!" Asuka applauded her guardian as she poured herself a glass of apple juice as well.

"Vielen Dank," Kaji said in response with a smile. "Ich hatte neun Jahre zu üben," he added. "Oh, Asuka?" Kaji soon said with a grin as the girl lifted the glass up to her lips and began drinking the juice.

"Ich möchte einen Schnauzer mit meinem Wiener Schnitzel*," Kaji said. Asuka's eyes bugged out and she ended up spraying apple juice all over the kitchen as she failed to hold back her laughter.

"D-Dammit, Dad!" Asuka let out in mock annoyance.

"I got ya good, though, didn't I?" Kaji asked her, switching back to Japanese.

"You jerk!" Asuka yelled playfully as she walked over and gently punched Kaji in the arm.

"Hey, careful there!" Kaji warned her in mock hurt. Asuka then walked over to the sink and grabbed a wash cloth.

"Okay, let's clean up. This apple juice is gonna make everything sticky if we let it sit around," Asuka said as she threw a wet wash cloth at Kaji. "After all, it was your fault that I sprayed it everywhere," Asuka added. Kaji sighed in reluctant acceptance of her words.

"Fair enough," Kaji said as he started wiping down the kitchen table.

* * *

**Ritsuko's Apartment, Tokyo-3, An Hour Later...**

Opening the door and stepping into her home, Ritsuko took off her jacket and hung it up on the rack near the door, before taking off her shoes. She walked over to the couch and sat down, rubbing her temples. Glancing over at the corner of the couch, Ritsuko saw the plush cat that she had bought the other day.

Letting out a sigh, Ritsuko got up and walked into the hallway and down to the bathroom. "I work the late shift, the lat shift, the la~ate shift! Tomorrow! Tomorrow!" Ritsuko sang halfheartedly as she prepared to brush her teeth. Grabbing her phone from her pants pocket and setting it on the counter, Ritsuko went about cleansing her mouth of all remaining traces of the food Misato had cooked.

Ritsuko then looked at herself in the mirror, seeing the hollow rings under her eyes. Those weary eyes, which had seen so many wonders and horrors in equal measure, things that Misato could never comprehend or understand, Ritsuko told herself. She then focused on the mole under her left eye.

"I wonder... if Gendo will ever catch on?" Ritsuko asked herself.  _It's been over eleven years, though. If he hasn't caught on by now, he never will on his own_ , Ritsuko thought to herself as she looked down at a small framed picture behind the sink. It was a picture of the second Rei on the day that she had been officially activated.

 _To witness what happened between my mother and Rei I... I should have known that she wouldn't understand social rules. I should never have talked about my mother like that with Gendo, at least not in front of Rei, not when she was so impressionable_ , Ritsuko thought to herself.  _In the end... we all got her killed. Gendo and I for letting her hear the things we said about mother, and then my mother for... reacting the way she did when Rei told her what we'd said._

Looking at a more recent photo, one taken when she had helped Rei II put on her high school uniform for the first time, Ritsuko sighed. The girl no longer had the cheery smile that she had worn in her initial months after her activation. She instead held a neutral expression on her face, with red eyes that stared ahead passively.

And then there was the most recent picture, one taken by Misato of all people, on a day in August, after the Fifth Angel's attack, when she and Shinji had taken Rei to the mall. The girl had been eating a kebab from a vegetable grill, and while she was conversing with Shinji, Misato had managed to take a few pictures showing the girl with a warm expression on her face, a content expression... a  _happy_  expression. Misato had given one of them to Ritsuko as proof of her claims that Rei had been coming out of her shell.

 _I wish I could've seen it in person. To see a smile gracing the lips of my first and greatest creation... of my... my..._  BRRIINNGG! Ritsuko was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of her phone ringing. Grabbing the phone after spitting out the tooth paste and briefly rinsing her mouth, she looked at the caller ID. "It's Gendo," Ritsuko said to herself. " _Ooh_   _baby_ ," she added with a smile before she finally answered the phone.

"Hey, what's up?" Ritsuko asked warmly. " _Ritsuko, I have a dentist appointment tomorrow morning_ ," Gendo said. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "Um... okay. Glad to know that you're taking care of your teeth," she replied.

" _I will require a driver to bring me back to the base or to my residence. I will be having some teeth pulled and replaced, and the doctors will no doubt be drugging me. I will not be safe to drive myself back from the appointment. I looked at your schedule to see if you had time. You don't have anything planned until late in the afternoon. If you have just recently accepted another workload or you were just informed of something that may require you going in earlier, I will understand your refusal_ ," Gendo said over the phone.

"No, no, it's quite all right, Gendo," Ritsuko said. Neither of them were at work at the moment, so there were no qualms between either of them regarding the use of the other's first name. " _Are you certain?_ " Gendo asked her. "I'm positive. What time do you need me to pick you up from your place and take you there?" Ritsuko asked with a smile on her face, looking forward to seeing Gendo under the influence of certain sleeping agents and pain dampeners.

* * *

**NERV HQ, Around Noon, Thursday, November 06, 2042**

Sitting at his console, 2nd Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga glanced back over at Misato as she read a manga while sitting in her chair. He looked over at 2nd Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba and 1st Lieutenant Maya Ibuki, both of whom where relaxing at their stations. Shigeru was busy balancing a pencil on his lips while Maya checked over some data on a pad while her terminal did an automatic maintenance tune up.

Makoto then looked back over at Misato, who glanced up at him and smiled with the slightest blush before returning her attention to her manga. Makoto smiled back before he turned around, briefly wondering if he'd imagined that blush. Still, there was another matter that was more important to him. Today was the first time that he'd tried Misato's cooking and  _hadn't_  felt sick to his stomach immediately afterward.

 _I guess the Commander's son certainly is doing her a world of good with those cooking lessons she keeps telling me about_ , Makoto thought to himself.  _I wouldn't call her most recent creation anything spectacular, but it was decent enough. Well, I thought it was decent. Shigeru and Maya must have much higher standards than I do, if those faces they'd made behind Misato's back were any indication_ , Makoto thought to himself as he looked over a system diagnostic check that had just finished on one of his consoles.

He then saw an incoming message from a remote NERV terminal. He clicked on the message icon and watched as a report came in from a coastal NERV outpost located near the Kii Peninsula. "Captain, I've got a report from one of our outposts. We've got something moving towards us," Hyuga called out.

"Is it an Angel?" Misato asked as she walked over to Hyuga's console.

"I'm not sure. No blue pattern wavelengths have been detected so far," Hyuga replied.

"Contact the outpost. Find out if they can give us any additional information," Misato ordered.

"Understood," Makoto said before he called up the outpost through a remote line. "Come in, Kii Outpost, please respond," Makoto requested. Static was all that could be heard over his headset. "I can't get a hold of them, Captain," Makoto said worriedly.

"Can we get a visual of the area?" Misato asked him.

"Just a moment," Makoto replied as he accessed the remote video feed from the outpost's sensor array. "Aaannnd... oh shit," Makoto said as the footage of a wrecked base showed up on the screen. A large black and silver-colored humanoid behemoth with broad arms could be seen walking away from the wreckage of the outpost, slowly making its way north... toward Tokyo-3.

"It's an Angel. It has to be," Misato said.

"But... we haven't detected any blue pattern wavelengths yet," Makoto said.

"So? We didn't detect any right away with the Fifth Angel," Misato reminded him.

"Right. I'd forgotten about that," Makoto said sheepishly.

"It's at the Kii Peninsula right now... so we have some time before it gets to Tokyo Three. I want an evacuation order implemented right away. Prepare the pilots for a sortie," Misato said, just before the alarms went off.

"Blue pattern detected!" 1st Lieutenant Maya Ibuki called out from her console. "Target is now reclassified at the Seventh Angel," she added.

"Bringing up a map of the Japan coast, showing the target's current path and rate of travel," 2nd Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba called out from his console. A large map of Japan soon appeared on the main screen of the command center, before it zoomed in to show the Kii Peninsula and the large blue dot that represented the Angel as it slowly marched towards Tokyo-3.

"We have five hours before it reaches Tokyo Three," Aoba said. "That's plenty of time to sortie the Evas and intercept it somewhere between here and the peninsula," Misato said. "Ibuki, alert Section Two and have them pick up the pilots  _immediately_. Hyuga, contact the Kii Outpost again. Find out if there are any survivors," Misato ordered. Makoto nodded his head in affirmation.

"Affirmative, Captain," Makoto said curtly before he began trying to contact the outpost. "Come in, Kii Outpost. Please respond, over."

"There's still no response," Makoto said after a minute.

"Try again," Misato ordered. Makoto nodded his head and tried once more.

"Captain, Section Two reports that they have collected the pilots and are on their way. ETA ten minutes to arrival," Maya called out.

Misato nodded her head and glanced back over at Makoto. Makoto then looked over at her with a grimace on his face. "Captain... there's nothing. I'm sorry," Makoto said forlornly, "I can't reach  _anyone_."

* * *

**Pilot Locker Rooms, NERV HQ, Fifteen Minutes Later...**

Asuka quickly zipped up her plug suit before attaching her A10 connectors. "Mari, are you ready to roll?" Asuka called out as she looked over her shoulder. Rei had already activated her plug suit's body adjustment feature, while Mari was busy trying to pull one of her pigtails out of the neck section of her green and gray suit. "Corporal Ayanami, help Warrant Officer Makinami with her plug suit," Asuka ordered.

Rei nodded her head and quickly marched over to help Mari pull her one pigtail out of the neck section of the plug suit, holding onto it while the brunette zipped up her suit and activated the body forming feature. "Thanks," Mari said to Rei.

"You are welcome," Rei said softly before making her way over to Asuka and standing at attention.

"Um, Corporal? You can just make your way to the Eva cages," Asuka said, not used to having someone salute her, since both she and Mari were of the same rank, and therefore neither of them had really needed to salute each other during their time living together.

"Understood," Rei said in monotone before she made her way out of the locker room.

"Corporal Ikari, are you ready?" Asuka called out as she saw the blue of the boy's plug suit from around the corner of the lockers.

"Affirmative, As-I mean, W-Warrant Officer Sohryu," Shinji called out nervously. Asuka rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Everyone else is already dressed, so just get out to the Eva cages," Asuka said. Shinji quickly ran out from behind the lockers and made his way to the door.

Asuka then looked over at Mari, who was holding her plug suit-covered breasts up to her face. "Mari, what are you  _doing?_ " Asuka asked her.

"I think the suit's getting a little tight around my bust," Mari replied.

"Well, you can request a new plug suit after we've taken care of the Angel," Asuka said. At the mention of the Angel, Mari's eyes lit up in excitement.

" _ **Yahoo!**_ " Mari cried out happily as she charged through the locker room. Asuka stared after he sister-in-arms with an annoyed expression.

"She'd better not get herself killed," Asuka muttered under her breath as she followed the others out to the Eva cages.

* * *

**NERV Outpost J-15, Suruga Bay, 2 Hours Later...**

"Is it here yet?" Mari asked in a bored tone as she sat inside the entry plug of Unit 05, the large hulking cyborg's green armor shining in the sunlight. " _Almost. There, in the water!_ " Asuka said over the com. "Finally," Mari said with a grin as she forced Unit 05 to take up a combat stance while holding a large Sonic Glaive. Nearby, Unit 02 held a pallet rifle with both hands as Asuka opened a com link to NERV HQ.

"Do we have any intel on this Angel's abilities?" Asuka asked over the com.  _Remember, Asuka, the Angels can learn_ , she thought to herself, remembering how the Sixth Angel had used a destroyer to protect itself when charging her two months earlier. " _Negative. So far, it's just been walking through everything in its path. We don't know if it possesses any long-range attacks like the previous Angels we've encountered_ ," Maya replied over the com.

Crouching down behind a nearby building, Unit 01 held a large ax in her hands with a large pistol holstered at her side, while Unit 00 held a pallet rifle while also sporting a holstered Eva-scaled pistol. All four Evas had power cables attached to them thanks to the outpost having its own large generator system designed specifically for use with the Evas. The outpost even had a small underground holding cage for a maximum of two Evangelions, along with a supply of LCL to refill said cyborgs.

Inside Unit 01, Shinji took in the sight of the Angel. It had large shoulder coverings, along with a slightly bird-like mask over the top-middle section of its torso. In the center of its body was a large red object, no doubt its core. Unlike most Angels' cores, however, this one had a square look to it. "Huh. It kinds of resembles Sachiel," he said, remembering the name that Rei had given to the Third Angel. " _It looks like what now?_ " Asuka asked him over the com. "Uh... Sachiel. The Third Angel. At least, Rei says that's what its name was," Shinji elaborated.

" _And just how does she know that?_ " Asuka asked over the com.

" _That is the name given to it in the ancient scrolls that accompanied the frozen body of Adam in Antarctica. The texts were translated shortly before Second Impact occurred_ ," Rei explained over the com.

" _Uh-huh, and just how do you know THAT as well?_ " Asuka asked her over the com.

" _Commander Ikari showed me the translated texts and explained them to me several years ago_ ," Rei explained.

" _Oh, and he didn't distribute any of this potentially really important information to the rest of us pilots for... what reason?_ " Asuka asked her in response.

" _I... I do not know_ ," Rei replied, the slightest hint of uncertainty present in her voice. While the other pilots didn't catch it, Shinji, who had been living with Rei for several months now, was able to pick up on this.

" _So, if you know the names of the previous Angels, would it be accurate to assume that you know the name of this one as well?_ " Asuka asked Rei.

" _I believe the name for this one is... Israfel, if my memory serves correctly_ ," Rei said over the com.

" _Okay, and what about the one I killed out at sea? What was that one's name?_ " Asuka asked her over the com. " _If it was indeed the Sixth Angel, then it's name would have been... Gaghiel_ ," Rei replied over the com.

" _Pilots, we need you to focus right now. The Angel is getting closer to shore_ ," Maya said over the com.

" _Affirmative_ ," Asuka and Rei both said over the com. Shinji simply shrugged his shoulders and focused his attention on the gigantic beast once more. As it got closer to shore, the more of it stood out of the water. The Angel was larger than an Evangelion, Shinji realized with a gulp.

" _All right, everyone keep your A.T. Fields disengaged until I give the order. Do not let the Angel know that we're here until we've been able to gauge its abilities and determine its lethality. Keep in mind, these things can learn, so let the Angel make the first move_ ," Asuka said firmly over the com. Shinji nodded his head in affirmation. "Affirmative, awaiting further orders," Shinji said over the com. He heard Rei say the same thing over the com seconds later.

The Angel soon exited the water to stand on the shore, slowly walking forward, crushing every small building in its path. " _Hey, Asuka, I don't think we're going to learn anything just by sitting back and doing nothing_ ," Mari said over the com. Shinji made Unit 01 grip the ax tighter as the Eva peeked around the corner of the building to get a better view of the Angel.

" _All right, I'm forming a preemptive strategy. All units will activate their A.T. Fields to neutralize the Angel's. After that, Unit Zero and I will use our pallet rifles to target the Angel's core and fire one at a time at it while making use of the city's buildings as cover. Once the Angel goes down, Units One and Five will use their weapons to dismember the beast so that NERV can transport its remains to any number of research facilities with ease_ ," Asuka said over the com.

" _Affirmative_ ," Rei and Shinji chorused over the com.

"All right, on my mark. Three... two... one... deploy A.T. Fields!" Asuka commanded over the com. A series of visible blurs appeared in the air, each one emanating from an Evangelion. " _A.T. Fields deployed. Neutralization of target A.T. Field confirmed_ ," Rei reported over the com.

"Roger," Asuka said. "Okay, Corporal Ayanami, prepare your rifle and aim for the core. Confirm target lock before firing," Asuka ordered. " _Affirmative. Securing target_ ," Rei replied over the com. As Asuka aimed her own rifle at the Angel, she couldn't help but feel that something seemed off. She replayed recent events over in her mind, trying to figure out what was wrong, until she realized that she hadn't heard Mari respond to any of her recent orders.

"Makinami, what is your status, over?" Asuka asked over the com. "Warrant Officer Makinami, please respond. Over," Asuka reiterated. "Mari?" she asked with concern in her voice, until a large shadow appeared over the ground in front of her Eva and rifle. "What the!?" Asuka gasped as the large green Unit 05 lunged forward, gripping its sonic glaive tightly in both hands.

"Makinami, fall back to your assigned position!" Asuka yelled over the com. " _No need! I've got this one! Come to Mama, baby!_ " Mari replied over the com. Asuka narrowed her eyes in contempt at the green Eva as it rushed forward on the field. "You stupid..." Asuka muttered as Unit 05 leapt into the air in front of Israfel and swung its glaive downward.

Mari felt a rush of adrenaline shoot through her body as she brought the glaive down upon the Angel. A smile formed on her lips as she watched the weapon make contact, and she felt a blinding flash of ecstasy coursing through her veins as she struck down her first Angel. "Oohh...  _fuck yeah, baby_ ," Mari shuddered in delight.

The sonic glaive cut through the Angel with ease, bisecting it vertically before Unit 05 stood back and nodded in satisfaction at the Angel's dangling halves. "That felt...  _good_ ," Mari said with a satisfied grin and a sigh as she turned her Eva around. " _Mari... when we get back to base, I want to talk to you in private_ ," Asuka said darkly over the com.

"Hey, your got your turn out at sea. This one was mine," Mari replied flippantly. " _Uh... Mari? Are you sure that you hit the Angel's core?_ " Shinji asked over the com. "Uh,  _yeah_. I cleaved the fucker in half," Mari responded cockily.

" _I think you missed_ ," Shinji said worriedly. Mari turned Unit 05 around and watched as the Angel's two halves began to change color and grow new halves to themselves, like starfish on steroids. "Oh, you've gotta be fucking  _kidding_ ," Mari swore as two Angels now stood in place of the original. One of them was silver, while the other was bronze. Both new Angels were smaller than the original, each one now the size of an Evangelion itself. Both twins bore a slightly elongated core in the center of their bodies, arranged in a vertical fashion.

Mari held the glaive tightly in her hands as she began marching forward. "Well, two for the price of one. This will be fun," Mari said with a sadistic grin on her face. " _Mari, fall back now. That's an order_ ," Asuka said over the com. "Nah, I got this," Mari responded.

" _Warrant Officer Makinami, that is an order! Fall back now!_ " Asuka barked over the com again, her tone becoming increasingly angry. " _Makinami, are you even listening to me!? Fall back now, on the double!_ " Asuka shouted angrily. Mari turned off the com unit in her entry plug. "Sorry, I couldn't quite catch that," Mari said unapologetically. "Besides, we're both the same rank," she added.

Marching over to the two new Angels, Unit 05 held the glaive horizontally, before stepping back and then swinging it around, cleaving both of the new Angels in half. Mari watched with satisfaction as the top halves of both creatures fell backwards onto the ground. And then, satisfaction turned to horror as the creatures' regernative abilities kicked in. Now there were  _four_  Angels.

There were  _four_  Angels! That's as many as two sets of two! And that's  _terrible!_

"Um... uh-oh," Mari muttered with a gulp. The four Angels, now each only reaching the Evangelions' chests in height, stared at Unit 05 with glowing red eyes. Their metallic coverings had all changed color as well. One was still silver, another bronze, but the other two were turquoise and gold. Each Angel also had a perfectly spherical red core in the center of its torso.

In a matter of seconds, the four Israfels has ganged up on Unit 05 with swift and synchronized movements, grabbing the Evangelion by the legs and flipping it over while also disarming it and throwing the glaive away. Two of the creatures mimicked each others actions, as did the other two, but the two pairs also acted independently of the other pair. After shoving Unit 05 into the ground, face-first, the Israfels then turned to look at the other Evangelions hiding in the city.

* * *

**Central Dogma, NERV HQ, At That Very Moment**

The command crew watched in dismay as the four Israfels began hunting and pummeling Units 02 and 01, while Unit 00 remained hidden and out of sight. "This... this can't be happening, can it?" Misato asked in dismay as she watched aerial drone footage of the battle. " _No! No, stay away!_ " Shinji cried out as he forced Unit 01 to swing its ax defensively at two approaching Israfel twins, before the weapon was knocked out of the Eva's hands. " _Oh, come on!_ " Shinji screamed over the com as the two Israfels attacked Unit 01 and shoved it into a building before dragging it around by the legs and shoulders, spinning it around as they danced in a wide arc before sending the Eva flying through the air before it crashed into a series of buildings nearby.

Vice Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki introduced the palm of his left hand to his face as he let out a groan of dismay and frustration. "Public Relations is going to have a field day with this," he groaned as he saw brief glimpses of news helicopters in the air just outside of the combat zone. "Dammit," he muttered.

* * *

**Back In Suruga Bay...**

Rei moved Unit 00 out of the way as two Israfels approached her, both of them moving simultaneously in their attack. In the distance, Rei saw Unit 02 falling victim to the other twin Angels as well, firing her rifle at them before having it knocked out of Unit 02's hands. Rei fired the rifle at the nearest one, hitting it in the abdomen as it leapt to the side to avoid more fire and get itself closer to Unit 00. Rei then dropped the rifle and took out Unit 00's progressive knife. Unit 00 assumed a combat stance before lashing forward, cutting one Israfel in the side, just before both Angels grabbed the Eva and disarmed it.

"This... is  _most..._  unpleasant," Rei muttered as the two Angels began wailing on the Eva, their arm and leg movements practically mirrors of each other as every kick and punch landed simultaneously. Neither of them let up until the cyborg had stopped moving. When they were satisfied with their beat-down, they wandered off to help the other twins put Unit 02 out of commission, the red Eva somehow still managing to hold its own.

"I'll take you all on!" Asuka screamed in rage as she landed a kick into the torso of the turquoise Israfel, knocking it away before performing a spinning kick at the bronze one, sending it toppling over to the ground. Unit 02 sent a fist flying into the silver Israfel, before a pair of arms grabbed it from behind and held it firm. "No! Let go of me!" Asuka cried out as the other three Israfels approached her and began laying into Unit 02, kicking and punching in synchronized movements. "This is... all... your fault... Mari," Asuka grunted in pain as she suffered the Eva's sympathetic injuries.

Once all four Evangelions were lying still on the ground, the four Israfels made their way back out into the bay, where they were soon introduced to the N2 mine. While their A.T. Fields prevented their complete destruction, they were still burned and scalded by the blast, losing more than 50% of each of their bodies, and were effectively put out of commission themselves, although they were still slowly regenerating. With the Angels temporarily subdued, NERV and the JSSDF began to process of retrieving the four fallen Evangelions and returning them to Tokyo-3.

* * *

**Pilot Locker Rooms and Showers, NERV HQ, Later...**

The trip back from Suruga bay had been a quiet affair. All of the pilots had been retrieved from their Evas while work crews transported the behemoths back to Tokyo-3, and subsequently, the Geofront. Walking into the showers, Rei and Shinji entered separate stalls first, while Asuka grabbed Mari's arm from behind. Mari turned around to look at Asuka, who was glaring at her with a frown on her face.

"Is something wrong?" Mari asked her. Asuka silently fumed, her eyes twitching, until she could hold her feelings back no more.

"You...  _Du dumme Scheiße!_ " Asuka snapped as she slapped Mari across the face. Mari stepped back away from Asuka and looked at her in shock.

"Asuka, what the fuck!?" Mari shot back.

Asuka marched up to Mari and leaned forward, pressing her face close to hers. "You fucked everything up! That's what! I had a solid plan to kill the Angel, and  _you_  fucked it up!" Asuka shouted at her with vitriol.

"You got to kill the last one!" Mari retorted.

"Dammit, Mari! I had a plan, and when I give you an order I expect you to obey it!" Asuka yelled back at her. Footsteps soon echoed into the locker room from the entrance.

"Oh, fuck your orders,  _Princess!_  We're both the same rank! I don't have to do every little thing you say!" Mari shouted back angrily.

"I don't give a fuck if we're the same rank! I had a fucking  _plan!_ " Asuka yelled back before she shoved Mari against a locker.

"That's it!" Mari growled as she fought back and pushed Asuka against a shower stall. "I'll do you for that!" Mari added as she sent a fist towards Asuka's stomach. Asuka let out a grunt of pain as Mari's fist collided with her stomach, the impact going through the plug suit.

"What the HELL is going on in here!" Misato cried out as Asuka got her second wind and rushed Mari, grabbing her with both arms around the waist and pushing her back against a locker before letting loose with a series of punches to the stomach. Mari grappled with Asuka before Misato stepped in and pushed them apart.

"Let me at her! Let me at her!" Mari screamed.

"If I could, I'd have you demoted back down to cadet!" Asuka spat at Mari angrily.

"Fuck you,  _bitch!_  Ever since I met you, all you ever cared about was having the last word! You always had to be the best! You always had to try to have everything your way!" Mari retorted angrily.

"Bullshit! You're just as spoiled as I am, Mari! You just could never stand the fact that I'm a natural leader and you aren't! You know I could have graduated school sooner than you if I'd wanted, but instead I chose to go at  _your pace_  so that you wouldn't be alone! I could've gotten into college by now if it weren't for  _you!_ " Asuka shouted as Misato held both girls apart from each other.

"Asuka, Mari, that's enough!" Misato exclaimed.

"No! No, I need this!" Mari yelled as she tried to reach around Misato's arms.

"No, you need a fucking  _lobotomy_ ," Asuka shouted back at her.

"I said that's  _ **ENOUGH!**_ " Misato shouted at the girls, grabbing both of them by their ears and pulling on them hard.

"Ow! Ow! Fuck, that bloody hurts!" Mari cried out in pain.

"Ack, Scheiße! Hör auf, hör auf!" Asuka pleaded in German.

"Now, both of you get cleaned up. We're meeting with the Vice Commander in twenty minutes, and I want  _both_  of you to be washed and dressed by then. Got it? Now, step to it!" Misato hissed at the girls.

"Uh... the Vice Commander? Is my father not here right now?" Shinji asked from his stall as he dried off. He had stayed in the stall after hearing the commotion, not wanting to get involved in Asuka and Mari's spat.

"No. Ritsuko told me earlier that he had some important meetings to go to today, so Vice Commander Fuyutsuki is in charge until he gets back," Misato relayed. Meanwhile, Rei had silently finished showering and dressing the entire time, and was leaning back against the wall as she watched the scene with a look of disapproval on her face.

**Central Dogma Command Deck, Thirty Minutes Later...**

Asuka face-palmed as she watched the news footage playing over the main screen of the command center. Standing next to her, dressed in casual clothes after having showered, were her fellow pilots. Standing in front of them, with a scowl on her normally passive face, was Vice Commander Fuyutsuki.

"Mute the audio, please," Fuyutsuki requested of Aoba, who quickly set the screen's audio speakers to silent. Taking in a deep breath, Fuyutsuki slowly exhaled through his nose before he glared at the pilots. "Tell me, pilots, what is the goal of NERV?" Fuyutsuki asked them.

Asuka raised her right hand. "Yes, Warrant Officer Sohryu?" Fuyutsuki asked as he called on the red-head.

"The stated goal of NERV is to protect human civilization from extinction and to defend against the invading alien forces known as Angels," Asuka replied.

"Yes. So, tell me... what happened out there?" Fuyutsuki asked her sharply.

It was a rare occasion that Fuyutsuki allowed himself to slip back into his more stern University Professor personality, but given just what was at stake, he knew that his "Professor Lecture" persona was the most efficient way for him to get through to the pilots. He could already see Asuka preparing her statement, and after he would refute that statement, she would quickly unleash a retort, no doubt blaming Mari, who  _definitely_  would require punishment for her actions, but as Asuka was the team leader, her inability to control Mari meant that she could not simply pass off the blame. Already, Fuyutsuki was mentally preparing a stern speech for the pilots.

 _We got our asses kicked_ , was what Asuka wanted to say. Instead, she said, "We were unprepared for the Angel's unique behavior and abilities." A vague defensive statement if there ever was one. "Also, had Warrant Officer Makinami followed the orders given to her, the probability of success would no doubt have been increased," she finally added.

Fuyutsuki sighed. "Warrant Officer Sohryu, the reason for this mission's failure is that you were unable to control the other pilots under your command," Fuyutsuki said.

"What do you mean, ' _pilots?_ ' Ikari and Ayanami followed my orders just fine! Mari here is the one who screwed everything up!" Asuka retorted. Standing nearby, Kaji groaned and rolled his eyes.

Mari turned her eyes towards the floor as she listened to Asuka blame her for the mission's failure.  _I cut the thing in half! How was I supposed to know that it was part starfish?_

"While it is true that Pilot Makinami acted rashly, you still had a responsibility to keep her and the others in line. And not once after the Angels subdued Makinami did you give any orders to Ikari and Ayanami to help them fight back. And because of this mission's failure, the Self Defense Force will be taking over from here in order to stop the Angel. According to data collected from the MAGI, the Angel will be fully regenerated in five days," Fuyutsuki continued.

"Then let the Defense Force kill it," Asuka said bitterly. "I mean, they managed to damage the creatures to the point that they're stuck in the water missing half of their bodies! They clearly don't need us, so just let them drop another N-Two mine on the damn things and we'll do better with the next one," Asuka said.

"That is simply unacceptable," Fuyutsuki said. Asuka raised an eyebrow.

"What? The Defense Force is clearly doing a better job than we did, so... how is that unacceptable?" Asuka asked him.

"NERV is supposed to be responsible for safeguarding the world from the Angels. If we don't kill them, then the U.N. will see us as unnecessary and begin cutting our funding, which means we won't be able to maintain the Evangelions properly in the future. Our ability to defeat the Angels is what keeps our favor with the public and the United Nations, and what keeps us funded," Fuyutsuki explained.

Shinji raised a hand. "Um... I know that I might be out of place, but I think that Sohryu has a point. If the Defense Force can handle this particular Angel better than we can, then just let them do it. We'll prove ourselves with the next one that comes along," Shinji said, memories of Ramiel boiling him alive and Shamsel impaling him with her whips coming back to the forefront of his mind.

"How many of you are there? Four, correct?" Fuyutsuki asked the pilots.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Shinji asked him.

"Corporal Ikari, NERV will become a laughing stock if it is unable to stop a single Angel when it has  _four_  Evangelions at its disposal in one location. Now, I need to be able to give the UN a promise that we have a plan to kill this thing before the five days are up. Otherwise, they'll do exactly what you suggested  _and_  they'll begin cutting our funding," Fuyutsuki explained.

"If that happens, then we may not be able to properly handle the next Angel that comes along. Do you want that?" Fuyutsuki asked him.

"N-No sir," Shinji said sheepishly.

"Good. Now, Warrant Officer Makinami... we need to have a private talk about the chain of command," Fuyutsuki said as he gestured for the girl to follow him over to the ladder that led to the upper level where Gendo's command desk was located.

"Chain of command? But Asuka and I are the same rank!" Mari retorted.

"And you think that means you don't have to follow my orders!?" Asuka hollered at her.

"Hey, you got to kill the last Angel, so this one was mine!" Mari shot back.

"Yours!? This was supposed to be a  _team effort_ , Mari! I had a solid plan to deal with the Angel, and you went and fucked it up!" Asuka shouted.

"ENOUGH!" Fuyutsuki snapped at them, prompting everyone to look at him. No one had ever heard him raise his voice in that manner until now. "Makinami, Sohryu, I will be looking into how to deal with a proper chain of command for the two of you, since demoting both of you for what happened will still leave you at the same rank, and I can't very well  _promote_  one of your either, since both of you played a crucial role in the failure of this mission," Fuyutsuki said.

"Wait, Vice Commander," Misato started, "I may have an idea that could work." Everyone turned to look at Misato.

"Proceed," Fuyutsuki said.

"Okay, I've been ignoring most of your lecture to the pilots in order to focus on the footage of the battle, and I've noticed something that we might be able to use to our advantage," Misato began as she pointed to one of the monitors connected to Hyuga's terminal.

"And? Just what is it that you've noticed?" Fuyutsuki asked her.

"Well, the Angel has four cores in it, and each quadruplet contains one core each. However, while each quarter of the Angel may be a whole creature of its own, all four parts move in near-perfect synchronization," Misato explained.

"Wait... you mean how every time they attacked one of us, they did so together?" Shinji asked her.

"Well, that's only part of it. Watch this footage," Misato said as she motioned for Hyuga to start playing the beat down on the main screen of the control room. "See how the quadruplets work in tandem with one another, as though they're a single entity that's simply occupying different locations? See how each Angel in a certain pair mirrors the actions of the other?" Misato asked as she pointed to the footage.

"Now that you mention it... yeah, I see what you're talking about," Asuka said as she watched the footage.

"Yes, I can also see the behavior you are referencing," Rei said as she watched the footage of her Eva being subdued by the Angels.

"So, even though the Angel is split into four smaller Angels, they still operate as though they were part of one whole organism?" Shinji asked as realization dawned on him.

"Exactly, and while Ritsuko isn't here to give us some kind of deeply insightful revelation about the Angel's behavior, we-wait, where is she right now? Oh, never mind. Back to what I was saying; If we can match the Angel's behavior with our Evas, we might be able to beat it. It'll take a bit more time for the MAGI to run a full analysis of the data we've collected, but I've got a hunch that training all of you to work together in synchronization will be part of the solution," Misato finished.

She then turned to Maya. "So... how long until the MAGI can tell us what it knows?" Misato asked the short-haired woman.

"Um... the MAGI are still collating," Maya replied.

"Well, as soon as they're finished, I want a report on both my desk and Ritsuko's ASAP. Got that? I've already got a plan forming in my head, but I can't put it into action until my suspicions are proved or disproved," Misato said.

"Your... suspicions?" Maya asked her.

"You'll find out when I get the report. Until then, I'll be in my office. Inspector Kaji? Can I trust you to take the pilots home?" Misato asked Kaji.

"Huh? Uh, yeah, sure," Kaji replied, surprised by Misato's commanding behavior. She was so different now from the girl he'd known back in college.

"Wait... I still need to speak with Warrant Officers Makinami and Sohryu in my office," Fuyutsuki said.

"I'll wait until you're done with them, and then I'll be taking everyone back to the apartment," Kaji said as he led Rei and Shinji out of the command center, while Mari and Asuka followed Fuyutsuki in a different direction.

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment, Later That Evening...**

"This is ridiculous," Asuka muttered as she and Mari sat down across from Rei and Shinji in the living room. Pen-Pen sat on the couch, sipping a beer, while Misato outlined her plan for them with a white board that she had pulled from... somewhere.

"Do you want to beat the Angel or not?" Misato asked Asuka.

Asuka let out a sigh and motioned for Misato to continue. "Now, according to the MAGI, the Angel's four cores function in a synchronized fashion. Unfortunately, destroying them one at a time won't work because the remaining cores are capable of sending signals to the fallen Angel quadruplet to begin repairing its core, or it can even re-absorb the fallen Angel and form a new core for it. Essentially, you have to take out all four of them at once, because if even  _one_  of these cores remains intact while the others are damaged, the remaining parts of the Angel can simply reform and produce new cores on their own," Misato elaborated with crude drawings.

"So... we have to hit all four cores at the exact same time?" Mari asked her.

"Well... you can be off by a millisecond, but that's it. In order for this plan to work, the four of your have to learn how to work together in perfect synchronization. You need to eat together, watch TV together, read together, exercise together, sleep together-" "Whoa! Hold on there, Misato!" Asuka interrupted.

"What do you mean by ' _sleep together_ '?" Asuka asked her with a blush on her face as she glanced at Shinji.

"I believe she is referring to the act of sleeping in the same room as another person," Rei said.

"Rei? Do you even know what the term 'sleeping with someone' refers to?" Asuka asked her.

"Do you mean in the technical sense or in the sexual sense?" Rei asked in response.

" _Oh._  So, you  _do_  know what it means. Okay," Asuka said.

"Yes. Doctor Akagi made the distinction very clear to me six years ago, after I... oh, she told me not to speak about it," Rei said, her eyes widening in remembrance. Everyone, including Kaji and Misato, looked at Rei expectantly.

"I... I overheard two NERV personnel having a discussion involving the term, and a misunderstanding arose. Doctor Akagi corrected that misunderstanding when I asked her about it," Rei explained while omitting certain pieces of information.

"Uh-huh. And, uh... just who were these two personnel?" Misato asked her.

"I do not remember their names," Rei lied. She had promised Doctor Akagi that she would not tell anyone what she had discovered regarding her and...  _the_   _Commander_.

_'I'm not eating him, Rei! I swear! Just calm down! The reason I had his, uh... look, I think it's time we gave you The Talk,' A flustered Ritsuko said as she stood up and buttoned up her shirt. Gendo maintained an emotionless "expression" on his face as he did his best to not look Rei in the eyes while he zipped up his pants. A bewildered Rei stood where she was in shock, her eyes as wide as saucers._

Misato studied Rei's face for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders in acceptance.

"Right, anyway, back to business. So, all four of you will have to begin synchronizing with one another starting tonight. Now, you will, of course, have to stay here all day, and that means you'll miss a week's worth of school," Misato said with a sigh.

"Mmmm... I can live with that," Mari said, not caring much about the school work she'd be missing.

"It's... a necessary sacrifice to save the world... I guess," Shinji added, not really minding the prospect of getting out of school for a week.

"I am accustomed to missing school for extended periods of time," Rei said.

"Well... sure. I can go a week without listening to that old geezer droning  _on and on_  about life before Second Impact," Asuka said.

"Good! Kaji, grab some unisex clothes for them," Misato said.

"I'll go see what we have," Kaji said as he walked over through the kitchen and into the corridor, putting on his shoes before leaving the apartment.

"Now... let's start going over the basics of this training," Misato said.

"Wait, when we eat together, does that mean we all eat the same food? Or do we simply eat at the same pace?" Shinji asked.

"Hmm... oh, that's right! Rei, you're a vegetarian! I'm sure you guys can work something out, though," Misato said.

"A vegetarian?" Asuka asked snidely. "You don't like thinking about the poor animals that the meat comes from? Is it too harsh of a reality for you?" she asked in a taunt. Rei narrowed her eyes at the red-head.

"My stomach does not digest meat properly. It is a medical condition," Rei said sharply with a frown on her face.

"So please, do not mock me,  _especially_  not in my own home," she added firmly. Misato's eyes widened at Rei's actions, while Shinji simply blinked at her in surprise. "Furthermore, as I am your subordinate, mocking me does nothing to ensure my loyalty to you or my willingness to obey your orders," Rei continued with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows, stopping Misato from issuing her own reprimand.

"Sure. Yeah, sure," Asuka said quietly.

"I like her," Mari said to Asuka while nodding her head.

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment, Friday, November 07, 2042**

Kensuke glanced over at Toji before looking at the door. "Do you think he's sick? Maybe he got injured in a fight?" Kensuke asked with concern.

"We'll find out once we get inside," Toji said as he raised a hand to knock on the door, just before hearing footsteps behind him. Toji turned around to see Hikari Horaki, the class representative, and Mayumi Yamagishi, one of Hikari's close friends, approaching the apartment.

"Class Rep? What're you doin' here?" Toji asked her. Hikari held up a folder full of papers inside a zip-lock bag.

"I'm delivering the class assignments for the week," Hikari explained to them. Mayumi nodded her head in agreement.

"Wait, so... you know what's goin' on?" Toji asked her.

"Miss Katsuragi told me over the phone that the four of them have to perform some kind of special training, so they won't be able to come to school for at least a week," Hikari explained.

"Huh. Did she say what  _kind_  of training they're doin'?" Toji asked her.

"No, she didn't say," Hikari replied before ringing the door bell. After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal Misato, wearing a large green track suit, with her hair tied into a ponytail.

"Ah, Miss Horaki-sensei," Misato said in attempt to be polite. Hikari raised an eyebrow.

"S-Sensei?" Hikari asked her, flustered. Toji snickered at the term.

"Why not? You do more teaching than the actual teacher," Toji said to her. Hikari looked over at Kensuke, who nodded his head in agreement, before finally glancing back at Mayumi, who also nodded her head.

"It's true," Mayumi said.

Hikari then returned her attantion to Misato. "Um... may we come inside?" Hikari asked politely. Misato nodded her head and gestured for the group to enter the apartment. They all made sure to take off their shoes before making their way into the kitchen, where Pen-Pen quietly drank some Yabisu while reading a magazine. Hikari and Mayumi stopped in their tracks and looked at Pen-Pen.

"Is-is-is-is... is that... is that..." Mayumi asked in astonishment.

"Yep. That's Pen-Pen," Misato said to the girls. Pen-Pen looked up from his magazine and stared back at the girls, who still hadn't budged from their spot.

They looked at him.

And he looked at them.

And they looked at  _him_.

And he looked at  _them_.

And they looked at  _him!_

And he looked at  _them!_

And then a loud crashing noise from the living room drew their attention away from the sentient beer-drinking Penguin sitting at the dinner table. Shaken from their stupor, the two girls made their way over to the living room, where they saw four teenagers wearing track suits laying in a heap on the floor. "What happened in here?" Hikari asked in bewilderment.

"They all look like clones of me," Toji said as he eyed the black track suits the pilots were wearing.

"Grr! Get off me!" Asuka growled as she pushed Mari over and stood up. Behind her, Rei was helping Shinji up to his feet. "Watch your footing next time, Ikari!" Asuka spat out in contempt.

"Hey, it was an accident! I just couldn't keep up with you," Shinji retorted defensively. It wasn't his fault that Asuka's ass and Mari's bust had both been close enough to his face for him to lose focus on the exercise.

" _Then why didn't you say so!?_ " Asuka and Mari both snapped at him simultaneously.

"I was... distracted," Shinji said carefully. Asuka and Mari both looked at him questioningly, imploring him to continue. "By... your... um... bodies," Shinji admitted nervously.

" _Ugh! I can't believe that you-hey! Stop that!_ " Mari and Asuka snapped at each other simultaneously.

"Uh... what the hell's goin' on here?" Toji asked them.

Asuka just looked over at Toji. "What do  _you_  want, neanderthal?" Asuka asked him. Toji scowled at Asuka in response.

"I just wanna know what's going' on here," Toji reiterated.

"Well, we are  _clearly_  in the middle of a very important and complex training regimen so that we can beat the Angel," Asuka said with a sigh.

"All four of you?" Hikari asked her.

"Yeah, all four of us," Asuka replied. "I guess I won't be able to make it to your place again until this is over. Tell Nozomi I'm sorry, okay?" Asuka asked Hikari.

"I'll be sure to do that. She really likes you for some reason. She's even said that she wishes you could be her third big sister," Hikari said.

" _Aww_ , that's so sweet," Asuka responded with a genuine smile.

"Yeah. She really looks up to you, especially since you help her cheat at those video games you play with her all the time," Hikari added with a slight glare.

"Hey, I do  _not_  help her cheat. I just... show her  _certain secrets_  that I've found. That's all," Asuka denied and explained in a very specific fashion, keeping her eyes looking away from Hikari's the entire time.

"Hey! Get back to training!" Misato barked at the four pilots. "I'll explain everything," she said as she walked over to the four civilian teenagers as she motioned for them to sit on the couch. She then brought out the mysterious white board again and began making crude drawings with a marker as she explained her plan to the four civilian teenagers.

"So, all four of them need to destroy the Angels' cores at the exact same time in order to kill it permanently," Misato capped off. Toji raised an eyebrow before looking over at the pilots. They were currently performing some kind of weird slow dance to the sound of some weird opera shit. Although, Toji couldn't help but notice the sheen of sweat glistening on Asuka's neck and face. Asuka's hair had been tied into a ponytail, and damn if it didn't look good on her.

 _It looks... REALLY GOOD on her_ , Toji thought to himself.  _I've always found the Red Devil attractive, but... damn_.  _I mean... just DAMN_.

Also, despite the bagginess of the track suit, Toji could still make out both Mari  _and_  Asuka's busts and maturing figures through the- "HEY! TOJI! Pay attention!" Misato yelled, snapping her fingers in front of him.

"Huh!? Oh, r-right!" Toji said.

"You can ogle them  _after_  the Angel is dead. Until then, simply observe and be quiet. Also... I guess, give them morale support or something," Misato added.

"Wait, wouldn't observing the pilots still give Toji the opportunity to ogle them? Or does it not count because... oh, my head hurts," Mayumi said. Hikari and Kensuke both glanced at her in perfect synchronization before returning their attention to Misato.

"So... I'll be back Monday with next week's assignments," Hikari said as she stood up and bowed. "Thank you for explaining things to us, Miss Katsuragi," Hikari said.

"It's  _Captain_  Katsuragi to you," Misato said with a shit-eating grin.

"Uh... how about  _Coach_  Katsuragi instead?" Toji suggested, looking up and down Misato's track suit, which... actually accented her figure quite nicely, despite its bagginess.

"No. It is...  _Captain_ ," she said, maintaining her grin while folding her arms in front of her chest.

* * *

**Later That Night...**

Lying on the floor of Shinji's room, Asuka opened her eyes. Glancing around the dark room, she saw that it was empty. "What? Where is everyone?" she asked rhetorically as she got up and walked over to the open doorway of the room. Sliding the door open further, Asuka stepped out into the darkened hallway. Rubbing her eyes, she opened them again to see that she was now in complete darkness. She couldn't even see her own limbs anymore.

She reached out, trying to find a light switch, but she couldn't feel the walls anymore. In fact, she couldn't feel the floor beneath her either. She opened her mouth to speak, only to feel it filling with LCL. Her eyes widened as she looked around, trying to find out where she was, until she spotted something glowing faintly in the distance.

It was a red glow, a faint one, and it emanated through a narrow tapered slot. The slot soon turned out to be narrow triangular pillars that slowly raised and lowered, letting more of the red glow illuminate Asuka's surroundings. She looked around, and saw nothing but LCL around her, dark as night.

As the triangular formations continued moving away from each other, Asuka started to notice something about them. They were whitish in color, and ended it pointed tips. As the LCL began to lighten up, she saw that there were dozens, if not hundreds of these triangular cones lining the top and bottom of some kind of cavern. The cavern continued growing in height, and Asuka now noticed how the cones formed the perimeter of a long... mouth.

Asuka's eyes widened as she realized what the red glow was. The cavern soon began to close, and Asuka could see the small skull-shaped mask located far back above the top of the mouth, and then it opened again as it moved towards her.  _The Angel! It's the Angel! Where's my Eva!? Mari!? Kaji!? Someone!? U-Unit Two!?_

The Angel moved closer to Asuka, picking up speed as it glided through the ocean of LCL towards its prey. Its mouth opened and closed repeatedly, showing Asuka that the red glow was the core located in the back of its throat. Her eyes widened as the Angel began turning its body, twisting its head sideways as it neared her and prepared to close its gigantic maw around her.

Asuka let loose a blood curdling scream of pure terror.

...

...

...

And then she opened her eyes. Taking in a deep breath, Asuka quietly looked around Shinji's room, seeing the boy sleeping next to Rei, while Mari slept on the other side of Asuka. Letting out a shudder of relief, Asuka carefully got up and made her way out of the room, heading for the bathroom. Being as quiet as possible, Asuka did her business, washed her hands, splashed her face to wipe away the sweat and grime, and then tip-toed her way back into Shinji's room.

As she prepared to lie back down in her spot, she couldn't help but notice how Shinji had an arm draped over Rei's waist and over the blanket they were sharing. It was... kind of cute, she supposed. Rei had a smile on her face as she made small, minute movements under the blanket, mostly from her head turning ever so slightly on the pillow.

Taking a breath, she got back down onto the double futon and pulled the blanket back over her body, keeping herself facing away from Mari, who slept soundly like a baby, while both of her arms were subtly moving down under the covers. " _Nng. Please, Kaworu, h-harder,_ " Mari whispered in her sleep, a smile plastered on her face.  _Figures. She gets to have a wet dream while_ _ **I'm**_ _stuck with nightmares about the last Angel_ , Asuka thought bitterly to herself.  _Not only that, but she's dreaming about that creepy reserve pilot! Doesn't she have ANY standards?_   _Whatever. Let her dream about mister creep_ , Asuka thought as she fell asleep again.

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment, Saturday, November 08 - Tuesday, November 11 [Montage Style]**

As the morning sun begins to rise in the sky, an alarm clock goes off, and all four teenagers rise from their futons, pushing away their blankets simultaneously. They stretch their arms out slowly, before standing up. They all begin putting on their track suits at the same time, moving at the same speed, with the same limbs moving on each body. They then make their way to the bathroom for the only portion of their training that allows them to perform an independent action. The toilet is flushed four different times before the room is aired out and the pilots prepare for the next part of their routine.

Asuka, Rei, Shinji, and Mari all brush their teeth in the sink simultaneously. All four of them spit into the circular depression at once before turning on the faucet and grabbing small cups to fill with water. They then toss back the water and gargle until spitting into the sink once again, letting the water from the faucet wash everything away.

The four pilots eat a meal consisting of rice and vegetables, with Rei having tofu mixed with her food while the others have chicken in theirs. They all bite, chew, swallow, and retrieve more food from their bowls in synchronized fashion. They all move at the same speed.

Misato watches the pilots perform with a smile on her face. Her plan is working. Everything is going according to her scenario.

All four pilots perform a set of crunches before moving on to sit-ups. Misato barks orders at them with a grin as they all obey her commands. Pen-Pen watches the synchronized training with mild amusement.

The four pilots peform slow rhythmic dance moves on a mat in the living room while listening to some kind of foreign opera song. Misato watches in satisfaction as they all move at the same speed in accordance with the music. Pen-Pen chugs a can of Yebisu before grabbing another can from the fridge and offering it to Misato, who drinks it with gusto.

The pilots temporarily break off their synchronization to take turns using the bathroom, all of them waiting in a line until the last once finishes. Afterward, they all resume their synchronization with ease. Misato nods her head at them proudly.

The pilots continue their dance routine together. They lift their legs together, move their arms together, turn their heads together, and twist their bodies together. They perform in a fluid rhythm, each pilot performing a mirror action of the pilot next to and across from them.

As night falls, the four pilots continue moving as one. They eat the same meal together, lift the same arms together, and chew their food in perfect synchronization. Peeking at them from around a corner, so as not to distract them, Misato quietly performs a victory dance, while Pen-Pen watches her, shaking his head in shame and disapproval at her awkward and horrendous dance.

The pilots then make one last bathroom break, this time showering. The three girls shower together while Shinji showers alone. When they are done, they all get dressed in clean sleeping clothes before heading off to bed together, settling down on their futons with perfect synchronization.

* * *

**Suruga Bay, Wednesday, November 12, 2042**

As the sun shone down upon the glistening waters of the submerged city that was once part of Suruga Bay, four large titans began to rise. Their burns had healed over, and their destroyed flesh had regenerated itself to form full bodies once again. The Angels rose up and began to walk forward once again, each one moving in perfect synchronization with the others.

Over the horizon, however, four figures soon appeared. The Israfels stopped moving as they felt their A.T. Fields connect with something new, before the fields were neutralized. They quickly turned to face the newcomers, seeing that they were the large giants they had face before.

Inside the entry plug of Evangelion Unit 02, Asuka grinned. "Okay, everybody. Let's dance," she said before everyone began moving in synchronization. Every movement of each Eva was a copy of the one next to it. The Evas moved forward as one, and then they all crouched down before shooting forward, leaping into the air and ejecting their power cables, giving them six minutes of maximum power usage as they shot forward and began their dance of destruction against the Angels.

The Evas dodged and weaved around the Angels with precision and swiftness, pushing the giants back toward the sea with their synchronized movements. The four Angels soon found themselves entering the deep water beyond the flooded city again. And, with only two minutes to spare, the Evas leapt into the air and descended upon the Angel, opening up their shoulder pylons to retrieve their progressive knives.

As soon as they touched down into the water, the Evas lunged forward and drove their knives into the core of each Angel at the exact same moment, their limbs moving in the exact manner and at the same speed. The four Israfels soon fell as their cores were pierced, and the blue ocean water began to mix with red blood from the Angels.

" _Yes!_ " All four pilots chanted simultaneously. And then the Evas all lost power at the exact same moment, allowing them to fall into the water as well. The four pilots, in perfect synchronization, then shouted, " _SHIT_ _!_ "

* * *

**ENDING THEME: Everything You've Ever Dreamed, by ARIANNE**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Misato and Asuka both receive promotions, Rei starts bonding more with Shinji, and Asuka reluctantly tutors Toji on his school work, while Kensuke hopelessly tries to impress Mari and ask her out.

* * *

**SPECIAL BONUS OMAKE**

Vice Commander Jack Wittenberg of NERV looked at the two kids in front of him, one of whom was a girl with blonde hair, and the other being a boy with a football shaped head and a tiny red hat. "Okay, listen up! I've got a plan to defeat the Angel," Wittenberg said. Arnold Shortman and Helga Pataki nodded their heads as they listened with interest. "Okay. Arnie, you and Helga are going to defeat the Angel using...  _syncratic dancing!_ " Wittenberg announced with a grin.

"This big bad Bubba has split itself into two halves that move in mirror movements, so to destroy each core simultaneously, you two must work together to perform a syncratic dance attack!" Wittenberg said excitedly. Arnold and Helga looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Uh... do you mean  _synchronized_  dancing?" Helga asked him. "That's what I just said," Wittenberg replied.

End Omake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Hmm... Okay. This one was, actually, kind of fun to write, but holy crap is it longer than I anticipated. I also had to rewrite multiple sections of this episode as I went along, and I even had to simply eliminate some sequences outright due to how long it was getting. Remember, I'm trying to make this feel like an actual episode of a show, which is part of why I'm actually doing the music track listings and stuff. That means I also have to make sure that most chapters come in at similar lengths, give or take a few paragraphs.
> 
> I was actually going to have a sequence involving Ritsuko driving Gendo back to his office or residence from dentist office as well, but I've decided to not include that here because, well... I kind of wrote Gendo in a way that made him lose all of his intimidation factor, and I don't want that so soon in this story. I've tried to keep Gendo intimidating and mysterious by only featuring him sporadically so far throughout the story, although I do plan on featuring him more often as the story goes on. Remember, a little bit of Gendo can go a long way, much like Slimer in The Real Ghostbusters (at least during the first season and the syndicated episodes. Everything afterward was... ugh.)
> 
> *"I want a Schnauzer with my Wiener Schnitzel," is what Kaji said. This was a small gag from the movie Top Secret, produced by the Zucker Abrams Zucker team, where Val Kilmer's character is trying to learn how to speak German.
> 
> And, yes, Rei learned about Gendo's relationship with Ritsuko when she [Rei] was younger, much like how Rei in the manga expresses knowledge of Ritsuko's relationship with Gendo there, only here she didn't get a cord wrapped around her throat by Ritsuko, since the dynamic between Ritsuko and Rei in this story is very different from how it was in NGE, the manga, and, possibly, Rebuild. Rebuild didn't focus too much on Ritsuko's background and relationships with other characters, so... I don't know if she acted towards Rei the way she did in NGE and the manga or not, at least before the ending of 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, anyway.
> 
> Also, as you may have noticed, Ritsuko has a much more fiery temper and is more easily angered in this story than other iterations of the character. I basically gave her some of NGE Asuka's traits. Not all of them, but a few.
> 
> Also, I am going to be introducing Mana Kirishima and her Evangelion in just a couple of episodes. No, Mana will not behave exactly as she did in the Girlfriend of Steel game... if you can call it a game, with what limited interactivity it has. It's more of an interactive slide show with a story, really.
> 
> Anyway, I also included the character of Mayumi Yamagishi from another Eva game, but I don't remember its name. I fact... I don't remember much of anything about it, other than the Mayumi in that game being the host of some weird Angel or something. So here, Mayumi is just making a few cameo appearances as a background character. Because why not?
> 
> And, yes, the Kaworu that Mari mentions in her sleep is in fact Kaworu Nagisa, or Tabris as he is also known. But he won't be making any actual appearances in the story until much, much later, like... after Zeruel's attack later. For now, this is just a small cameo and slight bit of foreshadowing.
> 
> Also, did anyone catch my reference to Evangelion Re:Death in this episode?
> 
> As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of the episode and/or story so far in your reviews. They're always appreciated, and they help motivate us writers to work harder sometimes.
> 
> Also, here's a special treat for all of you, because while writing this episode, I thought of an extremely unusual crossover.


	9. Brains And Brawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toji asks Asuka to tutor him to help improve his grades in school, while Misato begins growing closer to Makoto. Meanwhile, Gendo is being himself and SEELE is being secretive and ominous. Business as usual.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

As with Episodes 02, 04, and 07, this episode is a breather episode that focuses mostly on character development. This is mostly development for Asuka, Toji, and Misato, as we get to see more of Misato's backstory, in addition to her developing relationship with Makoto. Yeah, I'm gonna be one of the few people to use the Misato/Makoto pairing in a long story!

PRAISE ME!

Or, you know, just ignore me and hope I go away.

Anyway, despite this, I will not be engaging in "Kaji bashing," because... why would I?

Music I listened to while writing this includes  _Kare Kano Original Soundtrack_  1 - 3 (1998) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Neon Genesis Evangelion Original Soundtrack_  1 - 3 (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Turn A Gundam Original Soundtrack_  1 - 3 (1999 - 2000) by Yoko Kanno,  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu and Yoichi Murata and Masamichi Amano, and  _Shiro SAGISU Music From Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance_ (2009) by Shiro Sagisu.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _Misato_ ,  _Ritsuko_ ,  _Rei I_.

Music From  _Turn A Gundam OST 1 - 3_  (1999 - 2000):  _Days_ ,  _Oshaberi Soshie_ ,  _Air Plant_ ,  _Felicity, Elements, X Top_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _F2 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_ ,  _A01 - Rei I_.

Music From  _Rebuild 2.0 OST_  (2009):  _Instability ~ Orchestra_ ,  _Field Dress_ ,  _Tranquility_.

Music From  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998):  _ED-1 B-Type_ ,  _Suiten fur Violoncello solo Nr. 1 G-Dur, BWV 1007 1. Vorspiel_ ,  _DVORAK: Original Complete Version_ ,  _F-3 Take 1 Cello Solo Melody_ , .

Music From  _Kare Kano OST 1 - 3_  (1998):  _Putting The Cart Before The Horse_ ,  _Yukino Miyazawa V (Nocturne)_ ,  _Treasure Every Meeting_ ,  _Yukino Miyzawa IV (Kanon)_ , .

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Rei I_  (Gendo speaks with SEELE),  **02**.  _Days_  (Misato & Makoto do paperwork/Toji calls Mari),  **03**.  _DVORAK: Original Complete Version_  (Shinji begins cello practice),  **04**.  _F-3 Take 1 Cello Solo Melody_  (Shinji continues cello practice),  **05**.  _Air Plant_  (Asuka's surprise),  **06**.  _Instability ~ Orchestra_  (Misato remembers 2nd Impact),  **07**.  _Field Dress_  (Kaji and Hyuga help Misato),  **08**.  _Felicity_  (Asuka Tutors Toji).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**09**.  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 09: Brains And Brawn**

* * *

**Gendo Ikari's Office, NERV HQ, Wednesday, December 03, 2042**

Eleven black monoliths were arranged in a circle around Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki, each one bearing a number on it, along with the name SEELE and the words SOUND ONLY. A twelfth holographic figure, that of an old man with a visor, stared directly at Gendo with a slight frown on his face. His name was Kiel Lorenz, and he was the head of SEELE and the Human Instrumentality Project.

" **Ikari, the Dead Sea Scrolls made it abundantly clear that only two of the Evas were to combat the Seventh. Why did you deviate from the scenario?** " Kiel asked him, his deep voice booming from the speakers of the room. Gendo remained in his seat, his hands posed as usual, while Fuyutsuki remained quiet as he observed everything.

"Gentlemen, if this deviation were truly so significant, then why did you wait until now to contact me about it? Certainly, something so important should have been brought up much earlier?" Gendo replied cooly. " **Ikari, answer the question** ," SEELE 02 said with a warning tone.

"I was indisposed at the time. Captain Katsuragi was in charge of combat operations, while Vice Commander Fuyutsuki had to maintain appearances by allowing the operations director to do her job unimpeded. Were he to override Captain Katsuragi's decisions without reason, that would certainly have raised suspicion among the higher ranked staff," Gendo answered in a neutral tone.

" **Just as well, the Sea Scrolls said that Israfel would only form** _ **two**_ **halves, not** _ **four quarters!**_ " SEELE 05 exclaimed angrily. His face hidden by his gloved hands, Gendo smirked. "And that is my fault... how?" Gendo then asked neutrally.

" **Not only that, but it was foretold to arrive at least a month earlier than it actually did** ," SEELE 07 said angrily.

Gendo had to restrain himself from scoffing at the petulance of these old men. He wanted to simply tell them all to eat shit and die, but that would no doubt have dire consequences. So, instead, he merely mocked their dogmatic adherence to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the very documents which had laid the foundations of SEELE, GEHIRN, and NERV itself in this war.

"Gentlemen, perhaps it would be wise to consider the possibility that the Dead Sea Scrolls are not infallible, and may contain errors. Or, perhaps, as with the scrolls found alongside Lilith, they are in need of newer and more accurate translations to replace the old ones," Gendo suggested. " **Watch your tongue, Ikari** ," Lorenz said with a firm tone.

"Gentlemen, did the Sea Scrolls not originally portend that Second Impact would be initiated on December thirty-first of the year two-thousand? If so, why was there a twenty-five year gap before it actually happened?" Gendo asked, knowing that his words were getting under their skins. The old men who formed SEELE were power-hungry and absolutely hated when things didn't go their way.

" **Perhaps your assessment bears merit, Ikari** ," Kiel said. " **Perhaps certain portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls indeed remain incorrectly translated. If this is true, then we must advance with caution, lest all of our plans unravel before us** ," Kiel continued.

" **Very well. We shall allow this consideration to be discussed among ourselves and investigated. You are free to return to your duties...** _ **Ikari**_ ," SEELE 09, the father of Gendo's late wife, said before his holographic monolith disappeared.

Soon, the others followed suit, until only Kiel Lorenz remained. " **If you are correct, Ikari, then tread carefully, for your responsibilities rely upon following the words of the scrolls as well** ," Kiel said before his hologram disappeared, leaving only Gendo and Fuyutsuki in the darkened room. Soon, the lights came on, illuminating the room properly once more... or at least in accordance with Gendo's preferences.

Fuyutsuki looked down at his wrist watch and sighed. "We have three minutes before she arrives," he said to Gendo. Gendo nodded his head.

"Indeed. Also, it would seem that the foolish old men are getting nervous, Professor," Gendo said with a slight grin, hidden by his gloved hands.

"The events laid out by the sea scrolls are not occurring as predicted," Fuyutsuki said.

"You mean, the events laid out in the  _translation_  of the scrolls," Gendo corrected him.

"True. The final Angel was supposed to have appeared and been defeated by this point," Fuyutsuki said worriedly.

"And yet, we still have ten more to go," Gendo added, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Given how far apart their appearances have become, the final Angel may not appear for at least another year or longer," Fuyutsuki noted.

"Indeed. But that simply gives us more time to adjust our plans if necessary," Gendo replied.

Soon, a light connected to a sensor above the door to his office glowed bright green, and Gendo pressed a button to open the door remotely. "Commander Ikari, you wished to see me?" Captain Misato Katsuragi asked as neutrally as she could while walking towards the Commander's desk. "Yes," Gendo replied, hiding his mouth behind his gloved hands.

Gendo motioned for Fuyutsuki to retrieve a large folder from his desk. The Vice Commander handed the folder to Misato, who took it but kept it closed. "Captain... for your restless dedication to NERV and humanity as a whole, in addition to your recent performance during the last Angel attack and your strategic maneuvering... I hereby promote you to the rank of Major," Gendo said in a neutral, borderline bored tone.

Misato stared at him with wide eyes, blinking in surprise. "Look in the folder," Fuyutsuki said with a warm smile. Misato hesitantly opened up the folder and pulled out a new pin for her uniform, along with several documents confirming her promotion.

"C-Commander, I... I don't know what to say," Misato said as she looked at the documents.

"A simple 'thank you' will suffice," Gendo said curtly. "Th-Thank you," Misato said, still in shock over her new promotion. "W-When does this take effect?" Misato asked Gendo.

"Five minutes ago," Gendo said, hiding a sly smirk behind his gloved hands.

"I... I... I..." Misato found herself unable to speak properly.

Behind his gloved hands, Gendo smirked at the woman's response. "If receiving a promotion impairs your ability to think and speak,  _Major_ , then perhaps the promotion should be rescinded?" Gendo asked in a mostly neutral tone, hiding the fact that he was joking. Only Fuyutsuki, who had known Gendo since his days as a University Professor, was able to pick up on the subtle hints in the man's tone.

"N-No, Commander! I am fully capable of speaking and thinking, sir!" Misato forced herself to say in a slightly awkward manner. Gendo remained impassive, while Fuyutsuki simply shook his head with a wistful sigh.

"Fuyutsuki, now for the Second," Gendo said as the older man retrieved another folder and handed it to Misato. Misato pulled out the documents held within and read them with wide eyes. "Is this... what I think it is?" Misato asked as she read the first document.

"It is the material related to Warrant Officer Sohryu's probation period as we consider her potential for promotion," Fuyutsuki explained.

"But... I thought that you were going to wait until the next Angel appears before making any considerations towards her career advancement," Misato said curiously.

"Yes, that was the original plan. After reviewing her performance during the initial stages of the first encounter with the Seventh Angel, however, it has become clear that Warrant Officer Sohryu... does have the potential to be the leader of the Evangelion Pilot Corps," Fuyutsuki said. Misato nodded her head in understanding and agreement.

"She still needs guidance, but she knows how to strategize, and her ability to recognize the need for intelligence regarding the enemy means that she won't throw herself or the other pilots into danger headfirst. Just as well, her plans for dealing with the Angel, while ultimately fruitless, showed an ability to formulate strategies while under less than ideal circumstances," he said before pausing to breathe.

"In the event that the pilots are, hypothetically speaking, cut off from you and/or the rest of NERV's command staff, then Warrant Officer Sohryu's ability to formulate and implement plans on the fly could mean the difference between life and death for herself and the other pilots," Fuyutsuki explained. Misato nodded her head in understanding.

"However, she will still need to undergo training during this probationary period in order to hone her skills as a team leader, so do not say anything to her that makes her think this is guaranteed," Gendo added.

"I understand," Misato said, nodding her head.

"Good. Also, the information regarding the Second Child is for your eyes only until Sunday morning, as we will need a written recommendation from you before then. We'll need someone who's worked with her to give a statement regarding the girl's readiness to undergo an evaluation. That person, Major, is  _you_ ," Gendo said.

"I understand," Misato said with a sharp nod of her head.

"Good. That is all for now. You may return to your station for the rest of your shift," Gendo said. Misato rose up with a short bow before sticking her new insignia pin onto her uniform, a small smile present on her face as she did so. Without further ado, the newly promoted Major Misato Katsuragi exited the room, both folders held tightly in her hands.

Gendo and Fuyutsuki glanced at each other once she was gone. "You really do have an...  _odd_  effect on people. Do you know that?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo. Gendo merely shrugged in response. "But, sometimes... I can see why it's necessary," Fuyutsuki added, remembering the meeting that he and Gendo had just had with SEELE moments earlier. "It certainly does help to have a good poker face."

* * *

**Misato Katsuragi's Office, An Hour Later...**

Signing another form in front of her, Misato sighed in indignation. She should have known that being promoted would have also meant more paperwork in some capacity. Lifting the now completed document and placing it on the 'FINISHED' pile, Misato drew another paper and placed it in front of her, reading it carefully before signing it and placing in the next pile.

Soon, the door to her office dinged. "Come in," she said, not taking her eyes off of the paperwork in front of her. She heard footsteps approaching her desk.

"Hey, Captain. Uh, you called me to come in here earlier, but you didn't say what for, so... I made sure to bring some snacks just in case this is...  _wow_ , that's a lot of paperwork," Makoto Hyuga said, eyeing the huge stack of papers to Misato's right, and the comparitively small stack on her left. "Uh... I'm guess you'd like some help with that?" Makoto asked her.

"Captain?" Makoto asked her again, until he noticed something on her jacket. "Hey, wait a minute... you got promoted! Congratulations, Major!" Makoto said with a smile. Misato smiled back at him as she looked up from her most recent document.

"Thank you," she said, a very tiny blush appearing on her cheeks.

"So... what are you doing here anyway?" she asked Makoto. Makoto blinked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean? You  _asked me_  to come here," Makoto explained. Misato looked at him quizzically, until she remembered that she had indeed asked Makoto to join her in her office when she'd realized just how much paperwork she'd had to take care of today, and that had been  _before_  her meeting with Commander Ikari.

"Oh, right! Sorry! I kind of forgot," Misato replied sheepishly. Makoto just shrugged his shoulders in response. He was accustomed to Misato being like this at times.

"Well... uh, what exactly do you need me to do?" Makoto asked her.

Misato looked back and forth between her unfinished papers and Makoto. " _We~ellll_..."

**One Hour Later...**

Makoto took another bite of his sandwich as he jotted down a series of numbers on some scrap paper, before finally writing down the final set of numbers on the actual document. "That's another one down," he said as he moved the paper over to the 'FINISHED' pile, which was steadily growing larger than the pile of unfinished documents on the other side of Misato's desk.

Misato had just finished another document before she took a bite out of a hoagie that Makoto had gotten her. For once, she had actually done more paperwork than eating after being given the sandwich, meaning that there was still half a hoagie left. Sure, the sandwich wasn't cold anymore, but Misato didn't mind. She was determined to finish her paperwork and get out of NERV HQ on time, or possibly even  _early_ , tonight.

**Another Hour Later...**

With a triumphant smile on her face, Misato signed her name on the last form before placing it on the 'FINISHED' pile. "YES! Ha-ha! Take that, paperwork! I beat you! I beat you... with help from Makoto, but I still beat you!" she cried out jovially, a big cheesy smile plastered on her face as she stood up and did a victory dance. Makoto smiled and shook his head at Misato's antics. Then he realized that Misato had used his first name.

"This calls for a celebration!" Misato announced proudly. "Let's go somewhere together and get  _shit-faaaaaced!_ " she suggest to Makoto with a big cheesy grin. Makoto chuckled nervously in response.

* * *

**The Suzuhara Household, Tokyo-3, That Afternoon...**

Toji Suzuhara looked down at the paper in front of him with a frown. He hated homework. He utterly despised it. He understood the reasoning for its existence, but that did not make him respect it at all. Groaning in frustration, he quickly used his calculator to figure out the current problem on his math homework. "I can't even figure this stuff out on my own anymore," Toji muttered to himself in dismay.

"I need help," he said to himself. He considered calling up Kensuke, but the last thing that he wanted was for the geek to have something to hold over him. "Maybe Shin-man could help me?" Toji asked himself as he took out his cell phone and looked at the list contacts on it. Scrolling down the list, he soon noticed a few that he didn't remember putting in himself, including one for that Makinami girl and another for...  _Sohryu_. How in the hell did the Red Devil's phone number get into his contact list?

 _Then again, she hasn't exactly been a 'devil' since that last Angel attacked us. Maybe she's mellowin' out now_ , Toji thought to himself. "Nah. She'll wonder how I got the number and accuse me of bein' a stalker or somethin'," Toji said to himself with a sigh.

"Buuut... Mari seems friendly enough," Toji said to himself. He prepared to hit the TALK button on his phone to dial the number, before he stopped himself. "Wait a minute," he said to himself. "How  _did_  their numbers get on my phone in the first place?" he asked himself suspiciously.

Deciding to just go ahead with it, he called up Mari. He listened as the dial tone rang twice, before it was picked up. " _Hello!_ " Mari's bubbly voice spoke over the phone.

"Uh, hello, Makinami-san?" Toji asked her hesitantly.

" _Yeeeeesss?_ " came a mischievous sounding voice.

"How did your phone number end up on my cell phone?" Toji asked her.

" _I put it there_ ," she replied bluntly.

"You put it... but how... and  _when?_ " Toji asked her in bewilderment.

" _You had your back turned and I snatched it up! It was a few days ago, when you had gotten into an argument with Asuka about... something. You said something that set her off, she called you an ape, and then you started yelling back at her_ ," Mari explained.

"You put  _both_  of yer phone numbers into my cell phone that quickly?" Toji asked her in disbelief. " _Oh my, did I meow? Hmm... yes! I'm very good with computers and phones, Suzuhara-san_ ," Mari replied.

 _Wait... did she just... meow? Did she actually make that noise?_  "So... um, anyway, I was wonderin'... how good are ya at math?" Toji asked finally asked her. " _I'm pretty good, but not quite as good as Asuka. Why_?" Mari replied over the phone.

"Well... I'm having trouble with my math homework and I was kinda' wonderin' if you'd be willin' to help me," Toji explained. He rarely had any trouble with Mari, so he figured it would be safe to ask her for help. The silence on the other end of the phone, however, was starting to give Toji some second thoughts.

"Uh... Makinami-san? You there?" Toji asked. " _I'm still here. I was just thinking. You know, Asuka is a real prodigy when it comes to math. If you'd like, I could invite you over here to study with her_ ," Mari said.

"Uh... Makinami-san, Red-I mean,  _Sohryu-san_  ain't really fond of me," Toji said. " _Oh, I'm sure she'll loosen up once you get to know her better. Besides, tomorrow's her birthday, so she should be in a good mood, at least after we get home from our sync test. You can ask her for help then, not that she'll help you that very day, but she might consider it_ ," Mari replied.

"Yeah, but... what's wrong with  _you_  helpin' me out?" Toji asked her. " _Well... I suppose I_ _ **could**_ _help you, but you'd still have better luck with Asuka. How about this, you can come over tomorrow and I'll help you out until Asuka decides to show off how good she is at math_ ," Mari said.

"Uh... okay. Um, could you help me over the phone with a few problems right now, though?" Toji asked her. " _Um, sure. I guess so. What problems do you need help with?_ " Mari asked in response over the phone.

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment...**

Writing down the answer to the last question, Shinji smiled as he placed his homework in a folder before putting that folder in his backpack. He looked over at Rei, who had already finished her homework. "We're done," Shinji said to her with a smile.

Rei smiled back at him and nodded her head. She had been smiling a lot more in recent months, and Shinji couldn't help the growing feeling of warmth inside of him every time it happened. He liked seeing Rei smile.

Getting up from the kitchen table, Shinji stretched out his arms. "Well... I'm gonna go practice my cello," Shinji said as he began walking away. Quietly, Rei got up from the table as well, placing her homework in a small satchel that she had purchased after being prodded to do so by Misato some months earlier.

Making her way through the living room and opening the door to step out onto the veranda, Rei sat down on a chair as she watched Shinji bring his cello out of his room. This was a common occurrence: Shinji practicing his cello while Rei listened or watched from the living room or the veranda. She found his music soothing, even when he messed up.

The more Rei spent time around Shinji, the more she began to experience a warm feeling growing inside of her. She was curious about this, and intended to bring this up to Doctor Akagi at some point, but for now she was content to simply listen to Shinji as he played his cello, a faint smile forming on her lips as she listened to him start playing after setting up his equipment. Shinji started out with a rather simple tune to warm himself up.

It was DVORAK, Rei noted silently. Shinji played it effortlessly, having practiced it nearly a hundred times since he'd first received his cello. Despite the number of times he'd played it, however, he never grew tired of it.

When he was finished with the piece, he retrieved the note sheet from the ground and placed it on the stand before flipping to a new piece. This time, with his eyes open, he steadied himself and readied his bow. Making sure that his breathing was evened out, Shinji began playing the tune.

A light breeze swept through the air, tousling Rei's hair gently as Shinji continued his cello practice without pause. Rei noticed a small smile gracing Shinji's lips as he played the newest piece fluidly, clearly proud of himself for improving since his last attempt at the piece. While Shinji didn't turn to look at Rei, she knew that he was aware of her presence. However, she made no attempt to gain his attention. Rei was content to simply listen to Shinji play his cello, closing her eyes and letting the music soothe her as though it were balm over a wound. What kind of wound it was, Rei had no idea, but she enjoyed hearing Shinji play as a gentle breeze flowed around her.

Closing her eyes, Rei allowd herself to feel the breeze as the music itself carried her to a gentle place, with warmth flowing around her. She felt safe, content, and happy. She felt... happy. She opened her eyes and looked at Shinji as he played his cello.  _Happiness... it is quite pleasant_ , Rei noted.  _I... I feel warm again, as I often do around Shinji_.

When Shinji was finished with the piece, he simply began again, and Rei closed her eyes to allow the melody to sweep her away once more.  _I hope that I will continue to feel this in the future. I... I hope that the Commander's scenario can at least be delayed for a time so that I may continue to experience this feeling_.

* * *

**NERV HQ, Thursday Afternoon, December 04, 2042**

Looking at the monitor in front of her, Ritsuko Akagi nodded her head. She then glanced back at the visual feed of the pilots in their entry plugs. "Okay, you're all good to go," Ritsuko said before taking a drag from her cigarette. " _Finally_ ," Asuka muttered over the com.

"Sempai, don't forget that today is December Fourth," Maya said to Ritsuko. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at her protege in curiousity. Maya fidgeted slightly under Ritsuko's gaze. "It's... Sohryu-san's birthday," Maya explained.

"Oh," Ritsuko said in surprise. "I'd forgotten," Ritsuko said before she reached for the com station, only to see the progress monitoring screen show that Asuka had already exited her entry plug. "Well... I can tell her on her way out," Ritsuko said, not worrying too much as she looked over the data from the sync test on another screen nearby. Each pilots sync ratios were displayed on a spreadsheet of sorts, with the previous test's results listed underneath their current ones for comparison.

"Everyone seems to be maintaining a steady rate, although... Ayanami has shown a one-point-seven percent increase in her sync rate since the last test," Ritsuko said out loud as she compared the data. "I guess living with Misato hasn't been as detrimental to her as I'd initially feared," Ritsuko said with a light chuckle. Sitting nearby, Maya rolled her eyes at Ritsuko's comment.

* * *

**The Kaji/Sohryu/Makinami Apartment, Later...**

Opening the door and taking off their shoes, Asuka and Mari made their way into the kitchen, where they noticed that the lights were turned off. "Hey... where's Kaji?" Asuka asked curiously as she reached for the light switch. Kaji hadn't been at NERV HQ today, having had the day off, but he hadn't said anything about going out or not being home either.

As soon as the lights came on, Asuka and Mari saw Kaji standing behind the kitchen table with a small cake in the center. "Happy Birthday, Asuka. You're seventeen years old now," Kaji said warmly. Asuka blinked in surprise. With no one, other than Mari, having said anything to her at all during the day, Asuka had come to think that her birthday had simply been forgotten.

Slowly, a smile began to spread on Asuka's face. "Thank you... Dad," Asuka said softly. Hearing Asuka call him 'Dad' filled Kaji's heart with joy, and his smile brightened. "Come on, lets cut the cake and have ourselves a party. I invited Ikari and Ayanami over, and your friend Horaki-san," Kaji said. "But, Ayanami and Ikari both went straight to their apartment after we entered the building," Asuka said.

"Well... I'm sure they'll be over. Now, uh, given how things have been lately, I haven't really had time to go out and get you anything, so... here's an envelope with some money, and I have a new toothbrush sitting over on the counter for ya," Kaji said sheepishly. Asuka walked over and threw her arms around him, giving him a tight hug.

"That's okay. I'm just glad you remembered," Asuka said happily. Kaji had to force himself to not cry as he looked down at Asuka with a smile. He'd never had anyone celebrate his birthdays when he had been Asuka's age, not that growing up on the streets had ever given him much of a chance to celebrate them in the first place.

Kaji returned Asuka's hug with a gentle one of his own, before he glanced over at Mari, who was busy looking at her cell phone. Kaji then felt Asuka slowly pull away from him, and he let her go as she walked over to the counter and picked up the toothbrush he had gotten her. "Ah, it comes with three replacement heads," Asuka said as she inspected the packaging.

Soon, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Mari said as she turned around and walked back through the kitchen. The brunette quickly disappeared behind the corner as she walked through the small hallway.

Kaji looked back over at Asuka. "So, I hope getting a new toothbrush hasn't worn you out," Kaji said jokingly. Asuka rolled her eyes at him playfully. "We've still got a small party to hold," he added.

Soon, the soft sounds of socks on the floor entered the kitchen, and Kaji and Asuka both turned to see Mari entering the room... with Toji behind her. Asuka's eyes widened in surprise. "S-Suzuhara-san?" Asuka asked incredulously. Toji lifted an arm up to wave at Asuka in a very surprisingly humble manner.

"Yo," Toji said with a nervous smile. Kaji waved at the boy in return, as did Asuka, who was still very surprised to see Toji of all people show up to her apartment. Glancing at Mari, Asuka noticed a certain look in the bespectacled girl's eyes.

Before Asuka could ask Mari why Toji was in their apartment, the doorbell rang again. "Oh, that must be Rei and Shinji! Or maybe it's Hikari-san! I'll go get that as well!" Mari exclaimed with a smile as she merrily danced back down the entry hall, disappearing from view.

"So... Mari invited you over here for my birthday?" Asuka asked Toji. Toji nodded his head in response. "Huh. Well, I must say I'm... certainly surprised," Asuka said carefully, not wanting to come off as rude or hostile to her unexpected guest, at least not in front of her surrogate father, anyway.

"Uh... h-happy birthday," Toji said hesitantly. Asuka regarded him for a moment, before letting out a sigh. "Thank you, Suzuhara-san," Asuka finally said.

Kaji watched the scene with amusement, until he noticed the other visitors entering the kitchen. "Well, I'd say we have enough people here for a decent party now," Kaji said with a smile on his face. Asuka glanced over at him before returning her attention to the group of people standing around Toji. Shinji, Rei, Hikari, Mayumi, and Kensuke had all arrived to celebrate her birthday. Standing over to the side, Mari had a grin on her face.

"Let's get this party started," Mari said jovially.

**One Hour Later...**

Toji looked around the living room as he sipped his cup of water. Rei was sitting quietly on the couch while Mari animatedly prattled on about something. While Rei had indeed become more expressive in the past several months, the blank face she wore right now made it impossible for Toji tell whether or not the blue-haired girl cared about what Mari was saying.

Meanwhile, Shinji was speaking to Hikari and Mayumi about something, while Kensuke was talking to Kaji. That left Asuka by herself as she ate a small slice of cake on a paper plate. With a gulp, Toji set aside his pride and marched over to Asuka, who glanced up at him curiously.

"Can I help you, Suzuhara-san?" Asuka asked him. "I... I was wonderin'... I mean, you're smart and really good at math, right?" Toji asked her, unsure of what to say. Asuka raised an eyebrow at him curiously.

"Yes, why?" she asked him suspiciously.

"I... well, I wanted to ask Mari for help, but she insisted that I come to you, and bein' who I am, askin' for help ain't exactly easy, but I know dat if I don't ask, I'll just keep strugglin' and I-" "Is there a  _point_  to this?" Asuka interrupted him in a slightly annoyed tone.

Toji inhaled through his nose and let out a defeated sigh. "I... I was wonderin' if you'd be willin' to help me with my math homework," Toji finally said, his pride having been wounded. Asuka regarded him curiously for a moment as she considered his request.

"Hmm... well, how badly are you struggling?" she asked him.

"I can't figure out half of the problems on the sheets without usin' a calculator on the first try," Toji said, embarrassed. Asuka glanced down at the floor in thought. She then looked back up at Toji.

"Come over here tomorrow after school. We don't have any sync tests planned for tomorrow, so I should have time to help you out.  _But_ , you must listen to me when I explain how things work, and I expect you to bring a notebook or something to write in, as I don't intend to explain things twice. Do you understand?" Asuka said, staring him in the eyes.

"I-I understand," Toji said with a salute and a grin. Asuka nodded her head with a sigh. "Uh... one more question, though," Toji said as he put his hands together.

"Yeah?" Asuka asked him.

"If the questions are written in Kanji, do I need to read them to you, since I... I know you don't...  _like_  readin' Kanji an' all?" Toji asked her carefully. He knew that Asuka had a lot of trouble understanding Kanji, but to bring it up so bluntly could potentially undermine her willingness to help him.

"Yes. Anything written in Hiragana, I can understand on my own, but if it's in Kanji, you'll have to take the lead and write it down in Hiragana for me on a separate paper. Can you do that?" Asuka asked him. Toji nodded his head eagerly.

"Yes. Thank you! Thank you," Toji said quietly with a smile on his face. Asuka rolled her eyes in response to his display of gratitude.

"You're welcome," she said in mild annoyance. Toji bowed his head very briefly before walking over to Shinji and Hikari to join their conversation. Asuka watched the boy with contemplation, wondering what she had just agreed to doing. Certainly it wouldn't take her too many days to teach the boy what he needed to know, so there wouldn't be much harm in agreeing to tutor him.

* * *

**RECREATION CENTER 8-04, Level B-08, NERV HQ, December 24, 2042**

Misato Katsuragi stared at the mug of beer in front of her with haunted eyes. Tomorrow would be December 25. For most people, it was simply Christmas Day, even to the nonreligious, but to Misato... it was the seventeenth anniversary of the day her father and billions of people around the world died as ADAM was awakened from his slumber.

_'Run! Misato, this way! Everyone, hurry!' Professor Katsuragi shouted over the cacophony of noise in the large lab. The large, tan-colored humanoid broke another restraint, before turning its head, covered with a bird-like mask and four holes with red dots, and letting loose a yell as it lifted up a leg and kicked at the walls._

Shifting the mug in her hands, the mug itself containing her fourth drink of the evening, Misato watched as the lights of the bar reflected off of the glass like the white glow of ADAM itself when it began to transform. Sitting next to her, Makoto slowly sipped his beer, still being on his first glass of the evening. The man had learned early on that Misato would never be the designated driver unless she went to a bar by herself. If she went with friends, then she would drink and drink and drink. If she went alone, she would restrain herself. Glancing over at the woman, Makoto's smile fell as he noticed the haunted look on the woman's face as she stared into her glass.

_'Katsuragi, have you seen the others!?' Head Technician Stiles asked the man in English as he ran through the corridors, just before the roof of the building was torn open to reveal the darkened skies above, and the large humanoid figure ripping its way out of the first laboratory building and stepped outside, two orange spots beginning to glow on its back. 'Oh my god!' Stiles cried out as the building began to fall apart around them._

Misato watched the liquid inside slosh around, reminiscent of the waves created when ADAM escaped to the outside and began his transformation, melting large sections of ice around the research facility. She remembered how the ice crawlers had sunk into the melted snow while the various staff of the research facility were swept away by the water was the howling winds tore across the barren landscape, swirling around ADAM as his orange wings sprouted from his back and rose into the air, shining bright amidst the darkness of the night and the slush-filled winds roaring around him.

_'Misato, look out! Misato!' her father cried as the structure around them collapsed. Misato turned to run, but she felt something heavy hit her legs and knocked her over. She turned onto her side just in time to see the metal beam falling on top of her, and she gasped in fear as it came closer, the sound of her father crying out her name almost inaudbile in her state of shock._

Misato could still remember how ADAM had destroyed most of the research facility with its mighty arms and legs, before it began to glow white and change shape. She remembered how the entire landscape around her had been bathed in an ethereal glow as orange wings of light had sprouted out of ADAM's back as he rose into the air. She remembered how helpless she had felt when a weakened support beam had come loose and fallen down onto her, jagged metal falling with it and cutting into her abdomen before her father and Doctor Stevenson had found her.

_'Come on, let's get her to the infirmary! It should still be in one piece!' Stevenson exclaimed as he helped Doctor Katsuragi pick up Misato and carry her through the still-intact portions of the facility. The sounds of ADAM continuing his rampage echoed loudly through the air._

She could still remember the strange, almost  _human-like_ wail that ADAM had given out when that giant two-pronged lance had been launched from a modified rail system into its torso, just before her father had rushed over to her and covered her with his body as ADAM began to glow and explode. She remembered how her father had looked down at her with a strange expression, one showing a mixture of different emotions, but the most prominent one she recognized now had been that of regret. She would never forget that expression, for it was one of the last ones her father ever displayed.

_'It's in position! Launch the lance! Launch it now!' Doctor Kern shouted at the top of her lungs as a wounded Doctor Kanazawa hit the button on the rail system's control panel to send the Lance of Longinus shooting forward. The mighty weapon flew forward through the snow and sleet, cutting through the howling winds and impaling its target with pin-point accuracy._

Misato bit back a tear as she remembered how her father had collapsed on top of her, allowing her to see the jagged piece of debris that had embedded itself into his back. She remembered her father slowly losing consciousness as he handed her his cross pendant. But when she remembered his final words to her she broke down in tears.

_'I'm sorry, Misato. I wish I could have done everything better. I... I'm sorry,' her father said, just before he closed his eyes one last time._

Misato shuddered as her tears fell into her drink, and Makoto placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey, are you all right?" he asked her with concern in his voice. Misato looked at him, tears running down her cheeks as she shook her head.

Makoto turned to the bartender and handed him his card. "We're done for the night," Makoto said as the bartender took the card and swiped it through the register for payment. The bartender handed the card back to Makoto, who stuffed it into his pocket before leading Misato away from the bar. "Come on, let's get you home," he said softly as he led Misato to the exit.

* * *

**Inside Misato's Beautiful Blue Renault Alpine A310...**

Despite not being completely hammered, Misato had allowed Makoto to drive her home. She may not have been wasted, but she knew that she wasn't in any condition to drive either. Looking out the window at the street lights, Misato sighed and reclined her head against the head-rest.

"Thanks for driving me, Makoto," Misato said softly as she let out a sigh.

"Hey, it's no problem," Makoto replied. "So... do you... wanna talk about earlier?" Makoto asked her hesitantly. Misato glanced at him before rolling her eyes and shrugging her shoulders.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," she said. "Makoto, have you ever heard of the Katsuragi Expedition?" Misato asked the man. A look of thoughtfulness crossed Makoto's face as he tried to wrack his brain for an answer.

"Hm... it sounds familiar. I know it's related to Second Impact in some way, but I can't... I can't quite remember the exact details," Makoto replied. "I'm afraid I might have some of the 'official' government sanctioned intel mixed up with the truth in my head," Makoto said apologetically.

"That's okay. I can tell you the truth," Misato said somberly. "After all... I was there," she added as the dark memories of ADAM's awakening came back to the forefront of her mind once more.

_Looking at the pale giant in the center of the large room, 16 year-old Misato Katsuragi blinked in surprise. 'What is that thing?' she asked her father curiously. The giant currently had several nodes attached to it, along with monitoring equipment and sample collection devices. Sticking out from the giant's back were two prongs, both part of a longer spear that seemed to be impaled in the creature's body. Attached to the long shaft of the spear was a large device with several clamps around the length of the shaft._

"My father was the head of the expedition," Misato began. "He'd taken me down to Antarctica during my winter break, as a way of trying to bond with me or make up for lost time," Misato continued, remembering all of the times that her father had been unable to come home due to work, and all of the broken promises he'd made that just piled up over time. "I remember the two of us sharing a lunch together after arriving at the research station, just a day or two before everything went to hell," Misato said with a forlorn sigh.

_'I take it you've noticed Adam,' said a male voice. Misato and her father turned around to look at a man with shifty eyes and a stubble. He had a strange smile on his face. He held his hand out to the two Katsuragi's._

"He introduced me to most of the research staff who would be staying at the station over the holidays," Misato recalled. "A lot of people there were actually leaving for a short break to spend time with their families, including one person you and I both work for," Misato said to Makoto. Makoto raised an eyebrow but otherwise kept his eyes on the road.

_'Ah, Gendo,' Misato's father said as he reached out and shook the man's hand. 'Misato, this is Gendo Ikari, a member of our research team,' her father said to her before turning his attention to Gendo. 'So, are you ready for the big experiment tomorrow?' Professor Katsuragi asked Gendo._

_'Well, unfortunately, I can't stay,' Gendo replied, shaking his head. 'I've got a very impatient wife waiting for me back home, and I'm afraid that I'm out of time. If I don't catch this flight back now, I'll never hear the end of it. After all, I promised her that I'd be home for Christmas,' Gendo said with a chuckle and a genuine smile. Professor Katsuragi chuckled in return._

_'I know the feeling. If you make a woman a promise like that, you'd better try to keep it. Trust me,' Katsuragi said knowingly, a small frown appearing on his face. Misato looked back and fourth between the two men quietly as she leaned against a safety rail, a frown marring her face as she listened to her father's words._

"Back then, I still hated my father. But... after the plane had refueled and left with the others, I got to spend more time with my father that night. He took me outside at one point to show me the stars in the arctic sky, and we ate dinner with the rest of the research team and some of the station's maintenance staff before going to bed," Misato explained with a wistful sigh.

"But then... the following day, everything went to hell. There was a large machine with a set of clamps or something holding onto a giant spear that was embedded in Adam's body," Misato continued. "It was the Lance of Longinus, as I would later learn. The big experiment that everyone was hyped up for was their attempt to remove the Lance without breaking it," Misato said.

_'Looking at the pale giant, Misato felt a tingle crawl up her spine. Something felt off about this whole situation. Her father and the rest of the scientists were already setting up monitoring stations and preparing for the moment when they would extract the Lance from ADAM's freshly thawed body._

"The machine had a control panel hooked up to a computer terminal, and all it would take to get it started was one push of a button," Misato said, her voice starting to choke up. "My father decided to let me push the button to start the machine. And I did," Misato said as tears started flowing down her cheeks.

"I... I was the one who removed the Lance from ADAM and woke him up," Misato said with a shudder. Makoto briefly glanced over at her before returning his attention to the road. They were just entering the parking lot of the apartment complex where Misato lived. "I... I caused Second Impact," she said ruefully.

_Misato reached forward and pressed the ENTER key before hitting a large button next to a series of levers. The machine started up and began its slow process of removing the Lance from ADAM's body. Inch by inch, bit by bit, the long shaft was slowly removed from its fleshy hold._

_Misato then felt a hand resting on her shoulder. She glanced up at her father, who was looking at her with a warm smile. 'Congratulations, Misato. You've earned your place in history for this, along with the rest of us,' Professor Katsuragi said warmly. For the first time in years, Misato smiled back at her father._

"A few hours later, the Lance was finally free of ADAM's body. The Angel didn't wake up right away, but when the Lance was taken away to another building for study, it must have started to revive. It was a few hours later, when we were all celebrating in the cafeteria of the main building, that ADAM woke up," Misato explained.

"At first we thought it was machinery acting up, but then we felt the tremors, and soon enough, when we were called back to the lab to check on ADAM, the giant had woken up. It slaughtered half of the scientists who were trying to restrain it as it broke free, and it soon destroyed the lab itself, killing more people," Misato recalled somberly as Makoto pulled into a parking space and stopped the car.

Putting the car in park, Makoto turned off the engine and took out the keys before handing them to Misato. "We're here," he said softly as he held the keys out to her. Misato didn't notice the keys. She was lost in the memory of ADAM's awakening as she continued speaking.

"It destroyed everything and killed everyone in its path," Misato said, tears falling once more down her cheeks. "My f-father told everyone to find the Lance. He-He came up w-with a plan to stop ADAM by using the Lance, but... we had to use a magnetic rail thing that was sitting around. I never asked what it was for, but it was the only thing that could... launch the Lance," Misato said as she tried to get herself under control.

"By the time we'd gotten the Lance loaded onto the rail, most of the station had been destroyed, and ADAM had already turned into the giant of light. I remember those wings, those orange wings!" Misato cried out as she leaned towards Makoto and grabbed him by his uniform. "I can't get them out of my head!" she cried.

"All of those people died that day, and then even more died when the wars started! Half of humanity was wiped out because of the push of a button!" Misato exclaimed sorrowfully.

"And it was all my fault!" Misato sobbed as the tears came back and she started to cry. Makoto nervously placed his arms around Misato, bringing her in closer as she pressed herself against his uniformed chest. "I p-pressed [sob] the button. I [sob] o-opened Pandora's [sob] b-box," Misato cried. "I... I killed everyone!" she sobbed into Makoto's uniform, her body shaking as the grief took over.

"It... It's okay," Makoto said softly as he gently ran his hands up and down Misato's back in an attempt to sooth her. "It's not your fault," he said. Misato shook her head in response.

"Yes it is!" she cried back at him.

"No, it's  _not_ ," Makoto said firmly. "You couldn't have known what would happen when the lance was removed," he added. "And... even if you hadn't been there, it's likely that someone else would have pressed that button. It wasn't your fault, Misato. None of it was your fault," Makoto reaffirmed as he kept running his hands up and down Misato's back before he hugged her closer to him.

"It's not your fault, Misato," Makoto said softly once more. Misato just continued crying into his uniform as sobs wracked her body. "Just... let it all out," he said to her. For the next ten minutes, Misato let out all of her grief, anger, and sorrow. She cried until her throat was dry and her voice became hoarse. When she was done, she simply allowed Makoto to hold her, gently rubbing her back as he told her that everything was okay.

Glancing up at the bespectacled man, Misato felt something stir inside of her. It was something that had been there for a while now, but she'd always kept it at bay. She suddenly realized she didn't see Makoto as simply a good friend anymore. He was... something more than that. He wasn't a lover or something on that level, but he was definitely moving past the friend zone in her mind now.

He was someone she could confide in, like Ritsuko, but without all of the dark and foreboding secrets that Misato knew the faux-blonde was keeping from her. Makoto Hyuga was now... he was... something more important than a friend. And that something could easily grow and flourish into a greater something down the road. Misato recognized this feeling. She'd had this feeling only once before, and that was back in college when she'd started falling in love with Ryoji Kaji.

Those feelings were starting to slowly blossom for the bespectacled man holding her in his arms right now. She'd promised herself that she'd wait until the war against the Angels was over before she would move on with her life, but now she realized that she didn't want to wait that long. And that realization scared the shit out of her.

Soon, an intense tiredness began to flow through Misato's body. She was starting to have trouble keeping her eyes open. "M-Makoto... c-can you... help me up to my apartment?" Misato asked him quietly, her voice still a little hoarse.

"Sure. No problem," Makoto replied softly with a smile.

Misato smiled back at him before she rubbed her cheeks to wipe away the tears. Opening the car doors, both Misato and Makoto stepped out before Misato locked the doors with the key fob and stuffed it into her jacket. Misato tried stepping forward, only to realize that despite not being wasted, she was not able to focus while walking, feeling moderately inebriated. She reached out and placed her hands on the hood of the car while Makoto made his way over to her to reach an arm around her waist while she laid her right arm over his shoulders.

"Alright, here we go again," Makoto said as he helped Misato walk through the parking lot and over to the stairs. "Should we risk the stairs, or do you want to use the elevator?" Makoto asked Misato. Misato looked over at the entrance to the apartment lobby, which held the elevators inside of it.

"Ugh... elevator. I don't... I don't think I'll be able to walk even with you carrying me," Misato said tiredly. Makoto nodded his head as he saw a car pull into the lot. The car stopped just a few spaces away from them before its driver turned off the engine and the door opened to reveal a man with a ponytail.

"Inspector Kaji?" Makoto asked as the unshaven man walked over to him and Misato with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Lieutenant Hyuga. And... Major Katsuragi," Kaji said, nodding his head at them. He then looked Misato up and down before letting out a chuckle. "Don't tell me. She had too much fried chicken* for Christmas Eve dinner?" Kaji joked.

"No, she just... had more to drink than she could drive safely with," Makoto said. "She's not drunk, just not safe enough to drive herself home," he added. Kaji nodded his head in understanding.

"It's all right," Kaji said. "I've danced to this tune plenty of times in the past. Do you need some help?" he asked as he walked over to the duo.

"Well... I guess six legs are better than four," Misato snarked.

"Yeah... you only get that way when you've reached the middle point of a drinking marathon," Kaji noted cautiously. "Either that, you just cried in front of somebody," he added. Misato glared at him before turning her gaze to the pavement.

"Look, we shouldn't stand out here all night. Let's get into the building," Makoto said as he began walking forward. Misato moved herself along with him as best she could, but she was finding it difficult to keep her eyes open. She just felt so tired.

Seeing Misato's drooping eyelids, Kaji made his way over to Misato's left side and mirrored Makoto's form around Misato. "I'm not... having a three-way with you," Misato said tiredly, barely able to keep her eyes open and her head held up.

"That's okay. I had plenty of those with you and Rits back in college," Kaji joked, causing Makoto to raise an eyebrow. "Besides, raising two young girls for nine years makes a guy re-think the whole 'more females are better' idea," Kaji added humorously as the trio entered the lobby.

Making their way over to the proper elevator, the trio got inside and ascended to the floor where Misato and Kaji's apartments were located. By the time the elevator doors opened, however, the lack of movement had caused Misato to finally go night-night. The two men carefully walked the sleeping woman over to her apartment, with Mokoto fishing out the keys to Misato's apartment door while Kaji held her steady.

"So, I take it this isn't the first time you've done this," Kaji said knowingly to Makoto. Makoto looked at him with a mixed expression. "Relax, I've known Misato since college. Admitting that she tends to go overboard while drinking isn't going to slander her name," Kaji said in a disarming fashion.

"Well... it's not the first time, but... I do kind of wish that she'd be more restrained with her drinking," Makoto said with a sigh as he fetched the keys and unlocked the door. Kaji nodded his head in agreement with the man.

"I know the feeling," Kaji said as he helped Makoto carry Misato through the kitchen and into the living room. "Huh, it's kind of quiet in here," Kaji said as he looked around. It was late, but he'd kind of expected the two teenagers who lived there to take advantage of their guardian not being home by staying up late.

"It's Christmas Eve, and everyone's out partying, but... there's no one here," Kaji said.

"Ayanami and Ikari are a bit more... responsible than most kids their age," Makoto said as he looked around, not noticing the small black figure waddling into the kitchen behind them.

"Still, they're teenagers, and their guardian isn't at home. They should be up late watching movies or playing games, or... you know, making out or something," Kaji said, recalling the number of times that Asuka and Mari would stay up late on nights that he came home late or how often he would walk into the house to see them making out with some boy on the couch. Truly, surrogate parenthood had jaded him.

"You actually  _want_  to walk in on something like that?" Makoto asked Kaji in disbelief.

"It's not a 'want', Hyuga. It's more of an  _expectation_. I've spent the last nine years raising two girls, so trust me on that," Kaji replied with a sigh. "Believe me, I've lost count of how many times I've walked in on Asuka or Mari having fun with a boy in the living room because they forgot what time I'd be coming home," Kaji added wearily as he and Makoto continued hefting Misato through the living room.

Just as they reached Misato's bedroom door, the two men heard a 'wark' coming from behind them. Both of them turned their heads to look at Pen-Pen, who was holding a can of Yebisu in his clawed flipper/wings.

"Wark," Pen-Pen said again before he took a swig of his beer.  _So, Mis... um, Miso... Misa... Caretaker is drunk yet again. How unfortunate. I'd been hoping she would bring back some fish tonight, but... I suppose I'll have to ask Sh-uh... Shin... uh... Helpful Boy to buy some at the market again. He and Re... uh... Re... um... Red-Eyes are already asleep, so I'll just type up a note for him on Caretaker's laptop like last time... if I can remember where she stashed it,_  Pen-Pen thought to himself as he stared at the three humans in the living room.

"H-Hey there, Pen-Pen," Makoto said nervously. The bird looked him up and down before shifting his attention over to Kaji. Kaji smiled at the bird in a friendly manner.

"Yo, what's up?" Kaji asked the bird. Makoto raised an eyebrow at the man's almost nonchalant response. Pen-Pen, meanwhile, simply nodded his head before taking another sip of his beer.

"You aren't surprised by the beer-drinking penguin?" Makoto asked Kaji. Kaji rolled his eyes and shook his head in response.

"Please," Kaji started, "I work for a paramilitary organization that has teenagers pilot giant cyborgs into battle against monstruous aliens that defy the laws of physics. Compared to  _that_ , a beer-guzzling penguin is practically  _normal_. Besides, I've been living in this apartment building for a few months now. This isn't the first time I've seen the bird."

"Huh," Makoto said with a half-shrug. "When you say it that way... I guess I can see your reasoning," he said as he pulled the sliding door open. The two men carried Misato into the middle of the room and gently set her down on the futon in the middle.

"So, how often  _does_  this happen?" Kaji asked Makoto as they both stood up. Makoto grabbed a blanket from the corner of the room and draped it over Misato. Kaji noticed the way Makoto took care to not simply throw it on Misato but to actually make sure that it covered her.

"Well... once in a while," Makoto finally said. Kaji nodded his head in understanding.

"Yeah, she can be a real handful sometimes," Kaji said with a knowing smile on his lips. He turned to follow Makoto out of the room, sliding the door closed behind them as they stepped into the living room. Makoto raised an eyebrow at him.

"So, you really knew Misato and Doctor Akagi back in college?" Makoto asked the man as they both walked over to the kitchen. Kaji glanced at Makoto briefly before they both turned a corner to enter the entryway hall.

"I did. I knew them  _very well_ ," Kaji said with a smirk. "But, after a while, we started drifting apart. Ritsuko graduated early and left to join her mother at GEHIRN full time, while Misato started pursuing a military career. I myself decided to try getting into law enforcement, but things never quite went the way I'd planned. Nothing ever really does for me," Kaji explained as the two men made their way to the front door.

After turning the lock so that it would stay shut behind them, Kaji and Makoto exited the apartment and closed the door. "Uh, hey, Inspector Kaji? Did Misato ever tell you about... what she witnessed in Antarctica?" Makoto asked Kaji hesitantly.

Kaji looked at Makoto with an odd expression before nodding his head. "Yeah. She told me a long time ago, back in college. To be honest, I don't think she's ever truly gotten over it, even after seventeen years. Witnessing Second Impact at the very epicenter can't be an easy experience for anyone," Kaji said, before he glanced down at the stains on Makoto's uniform.

 _So, she did cry_ , Kaji thought to himself. "You know, the main reason Misato broke up with me back in college was that I reminded her too much of her father," Kaji said suddenly, catching Makoto off-guard. Makoto raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What brought this on?" he asked Kaji. Kaji shrugged his shoulders in response.

"You care about her, don't you?" Kaji asked Makoto, ignoring the other man's question. "Come on, I can see it plain as day," Kaji added when Makoto hesitated to respond. Makoto sighed and nodded his head in confirmation.

"What, are you embarrassed that you have feelings for her?" Kaji asked him. "If you are, don't be. She's really a wonderful person when she isn't putting up a front. But... she's also very broken under that tough exterior," Kaji said somberly. "I've seen her break down before, and it's never pretty. Like I said, she's never truly gotten over Second Impact," Kaji added as he looked Makoto in the eyes.

"But, maybe... maybe she can get over it with some help. I know it's probably too late for me to pick up the pieces, but... maybe I don't have to," Kaji said as he looked Makoto up and down.

"You think I have what it takes to help her?" Makoto asked him.

"I don't know. I don't really know much about you, Second Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga, but... if Misato trusts you enough to let you see her like this, then... you must be doing  _something_  right. She told you about being at Second Impact, and not just the outline, but the gritty details, too?" Kaji asked him.

Makoto nodded his head. "There's the first clue. Sure, she'll tell people the basic outline, that she was there when it happened, but she rarely ever lets out more than that... unless she trusts you," Kaji said. "And that tear stain... must mean she trusts you a lot," he added with a smirk.

"So... take care of her for me," Kaji said to Makoto. "And don't abuse her trust. She's been hurt enough in life as it is, by me and others. Just... be there for her when she needs you," Kaji said as he started walking over to his apartment. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got two teenage girls to look after. So, see you later," Kaji said with a wave of his hand as he walked further down the hall, leaving Makoto standing by himself outside of the door to Misato's apartment.

* * *

**The Suzuhara Residence, Tokyo-3, Thursday Afternoon, February 12, 2043**

Looking at the math problem on the worksheet in front of him, Toji Suzuhara let out a groan before smacking his head against the table in frustration. "I just don't get it," he muttered. Asuka sighed in frustration and shook her head at him.

"How can you  _not_  get it, stooge!? You took notes on it!" Asuka snapped at him. "Hell, I walked you through it step by step! You should understand this stuff by now!" she ranted.

"I know, it's just... it just doesn't click with me, ya know? I mean, I get it when you walk me through it, but it just doesn't stay in my head," Toji said with a frown as he sat back up.

"Well, smacking your head on the table certainly won't help," Asuka sniped.

"Maybe Toji's skull is just too thick for his brain to grow anymore," Sakura snickered as she watched the duo from the couch. Toji looked at Sakura with a frown and narrowed eyes.

"Yeah? Well, I'd like to see  _you_  do better with dis stuff," Toji growled at his sister, who only snickered more in response. Toji then felt a finger tapping on his shoulder.

"Toji, come on, let's... try this again," Asuka said softly, having forced herself to calm down. Toji nodded his head and flipped over the notebook to a clean page to start working on the newest set of math problems again. "Now... write down the equation one section at a time," Asuka said to him. "We're not stopping until you've figured this out, even if it takes me all night. I... am the Great Asuka Langley Sohryu, and I will not be defeated by one boy having trouble with his math homework," she said, mostly to herself.

Toji raised an eyebrow at her statement but otherwise did as he was told. The pair worked on Toji's math homework quietly until Asuka felt her phone vibrate. Pulling the device out of her pocket, she saw that the caller ID was Kaji. "Hello?" she asked into the phone.

" _Hey, Asuka, I just had a meeting with the Commander. In about a month or so, I'm gonna be heading out with him to NERV Second Branch in North America. We're gonna be inspecting their Eva units and possibly even bringing one back here with us_ ," Kaji said over the phone.

"Oh. Okay," Asuka said in response.

" _Well, I'm gonna call Mari and let her know. Say, do you want me to pick anything up on the way home tonight, like a pizza or some takeout?_ " Kaji asked. "Pizza sounds good, but I may not be back home until late, though," Asuka replied.

" _Oh? Are you at your friend Hikari's place right now?_ " Kaji asked her. "Uh, no. I'm actually at the Suzuhara residence. I'm helping Toji with his math homework," Asuka said. " _Suzuhara? Oh, is that boy you've been tutoring for the past couple months?_ " Kaji asked her in response.

"Yeah. We're making slow progress. Baby steps, you know?" Asuka replied. " _Alright. Do you want me to pick you up from there?_ " Kaji asked, the slightest hint of protectiveness seeping into his voice. "Ah, no. I'll manage on my own. Besides, with the way Toji is struggling... it may be a while before I can leave. I'll see you when I get home. Bye, Kaji," Asuka said before hanging up the phone.

"Now... where were we?" Asuka asked as she looked down at the notebook paper that Toji was slowly writing the math equation on. "Good. You're slowly getting the hang of it," Asuka noted as she Toji worked out the first part of the equation without any trouble. And then he started on the second part... which caused him no end of frustration.

* * *

**ENDING THEME: Brave New Love, by ALIEN**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next Episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Gendo and Kaji travel to NERV 2nd Branch in Nevada to inspect the American Eva units, as well as their pilots.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: And this was the Ninth Episode of REWIRED. And yes, the next episode introduces Mana Kirishima to the story.
> 
> As you can tell, this episodes focuses mostly on Misato and Asuka, while Shinji has been... eh, neglected by me a bit. Granted, most of his character development took place already in episodes 01 through 05. He still has a bit more character development to go through in later episodes, but for now I'm going to be dealing with Rei, Asuka, Misato, Mari, and Mana.
> 
> *In real life Japan, it is a somewhat recent tradition for families to go to KFC for Christmas dinner. Granted, Misato got drunk on Christmas Eve, but I'm sure plenty of families go to KFC the day prior as well.
> 
> Anyway, please be sure to let me know what you think of the episode and/or story so far in your reviews!


	10. TRIDENT

****

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

This episode of REWIRED introduces Mana Kirishima to the cast. And, as a warning, Mana will not be portrayed in a manner completely faithful to her appearance in Girlfriend of Steel, although she will still retain certain elements of her depiction in that game. Physically, she still looks the same as she did, but the changes I've made are in her behavior and background.

This episode also introduces  _two_  new Evangelions: Evangelion Test Model Unit 04 Alpha and Test Model Unit 04 Beta. That's right; not  _one_ , but  _two_  Evangelions called Unit 04.

Also, Mana in this story is American by nationality, by Japanese by ethnicity. Both of her parents are Japanese-American, their respective families having emigrated from Japan to America some time prior to 2nd Impact.

Also, the following episode contains numerous references to American films, TV series, and video games. If you are offended by this... well, it sucks to be you.

Music I listened to while writing this includes  _Macross Plus OST 1 - 3_  (1994 - 1995) by Yoko Kanno,  _Turn A Gundam OST 1 - 3_  (1999 - 2000) by Yoko Kanno,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu and Masamichi Amano and Yoichi Murata,  _Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory_  (1992) by Mitsuo Hagita,  _Human Clay_  by CREED,  _Titan A.E. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack_  (2000) by Graeme Revell,  _Titan A.E. Music From the Motion Picture_  (2000) by Various Artists,  _ALIENS: The Deluxe Edition_  (1986/2001) by James Horner and the  _Aliens Complete Score_  (from the isolated score featured on the Blu-Ray release), and  _Trigun_  OST 1 - 2 (1998) by Tsuneo Imahori.

Now, I know that some of music from the album for Titan A.E. is certainly dated, and CREED's  _Higher_  was only heard in the film's trailers, but... some of the songs do have a certain charm to them. And, I feel that some of these songs kind of fit Evangelion.  _My Turn To Fly_  by The Urge is a good song for this iteration of Mana Kirishima for reasons that will be explained in the story itself, while  _Like Lovers (Holding On)_  by Texas contains lyrics that kind of fit with any pairing in this story.  _Cosmic Castaway_  by Electrasy, however... well, doesn't really have anything that can be related to any of the characters in this story. I just like the song.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _Tri_ _gun_  (1998):  _Philosophy In a Tea Cup_ ,  _People Everyday_ ,  _Sound Life~Rem_ ,  _Not An Angel_ ,  _Cynical Pink_ ,  _Stories To Tell_ , .

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_ ,

Music From  _Human Clay_ :  _Higher_.

Music From  _Turn A Gundam OST 1 - 3_  (1999 - 2000):  _Memory Of Military Boots_ ,  _Quiet Landing_ ,  _Tracing The Axis Of Light_ ,  _White Falcon_ ,  _Winter Sun_ ,  _Springing From The Earth_ ,  _Elements_ ,  _Final Shore_ ,  _Second Shore_.

Music From  _Titan A.E. Score_  (2000):  _Prologue/Drej Attack_ ,  _Start Running, Keep Running_ ,  _The Human Race Still Matters_ ,  _We've Got Company_ ,  _The Dreaded Drej_ ,  _I Remember_ ,  _Power Struggle_ ,  _Creation/Bob_ ,  _Creation (Without Orchestra)_ ,  _Prologue (With Alternate Opening)_.

Music From  _Titan A.E. Album_  (2000):  _Cosmic Castaway_  (by Electrasy),  _It's My Turn to Fly_  (by The Urge),  _Like Lovers (Holding On)_  (by Texas).

Music From  _Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory_  (1992):  _Back To Paradise_  (Performed by Linda Hennrick),  _U.N.T._ ,  _Full Burner_.

Music From  _ALIENS: The Deluxe Edition_  (1986/2001):  _LV-426_ ,  _Bishop's Countdown_ ,  _Combat Drop_ ,  _Resolution And Hyperspace_  (this piece was replaced by Bishop's Countdown in the final cut of the film. It was later used in  _Die Hard_  (1988) when Officer Powell shoots Karl),  _Combat Drop (Percussion Only)_.

Music From  _ALIENS - Complete Theatrical Score_  (1986/2011):  _Landing Preparations - Theatrical Version parts 1 + 2_  (by Harry Rabinowitz),  _Destroying The Nest_ ,

Music From  _Macross Plus_  (1994 - 1995):  _Welcome To Sparefish_ ,  _Myung Theme (Cello Version)_ ,  _Cantabile_ ,  _Breakout_ ,  _Dog Fight_ ,  _3cm_ ,  _Jade_ ,  _Idol Talk_  (performed by Akino Arai), .

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Welcome to Sparefish_ ,  **02**.  _Back To Paradise_  (Training exercise),  **03**.  _Not An Angel_  (Mana at home),  **04**.  _We've Got Company_  (Alert at school),  **05**.  _LV-426_  (Gendo and Kaji in plane),  **06**.  _Elements_  (Studying Sahaquiel/Evacuation begins/Barnes's plan/Gendo arrives at base),  **07**.  _Landing Preparations ~ Theatrical Version_  (Evas prepare to launch),  **08**.  _Start Running, Keep Running_  (Evas launched/slowing down Sahaquiel),  **09**.  _Resolution And Hyperspace_  (The Final Blow/Aftermath),  **10**.  _Cantabile_  (Saying goodbye).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**11**.  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: Higher, by CREED**

* * *

**Episode 10: TRIDENT**

* * *

**NERV 2nd Branch, Perfection Valley, Nevada, North America, Tuesday Afternoon, March 10, 2043**

Looking up at the sky and the bright shining sun overhead, a 16-year-old girl with dark red/brown hair and a yellow and black plug-suit moved her hand upward, spreading out her thumb and pinky finger with her other three held together to resemble a bird or a fighter jet of some kind, just as she watched a small. She swooped her hand over her head, much like a fighter jet, and she slowly turned around before facing the side of the NERV base she was stationed at. Standing nearby, leaning against the back of a jeep, was Lieutenant Colonel Conrad Barnes, who had his arms folded and a smirk on his face.

"Thought I'd find you out here," Barnes said as he gestured for the girl to walk towards him and the jeep. With a smug smile on her face, she quickly jogged over to him, ignoring the dirt that got on her plug suit. "Mana, haven't we told you to only wear the plug suit while inside the base or Unit Four-Beta?" Barnes asked her.

"Yeah, but... you know... I wanted to know how it handled the sun," Airman First Class Mana Kirishima replied. Barnes sighed and shook his head in response. "What?" Mana asked him.

Barnes shook his head again. "Nothing. Come on, you and Wagner both need to be ready for this afternoon's exercise," Barnes said as he led Mana over to the entrance of the base. The duo walked through the corridors silently as they passed multiple personnel on the way to the elevators. Unlike most other branches of NERV, the Second Branch in Nevada was staffed by mostly former military personnel, and all of their security guards were pulled from military forces. Barnes himself had been in the Army before accepting his position at NERV.

"So... are we using the special Bakelite rounds for today's exercise?" Mana asked Barnes eagerly. Barnes smirked at her in response before nodding his head. "Yes!" Mana said with a grin and a fist pumped into the air as they entered the elevator.

"Just don't go overboard," Barnes said as he placed his right hand on her left shoulder. Mana let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh, you know I won't waste 'em," Mana retorted, rolling her eyes.

Barnes let out a chuckle. "I hope so," he said with a grin. "Oh, by the way, how much of your stuff is packed?" Barnes then asked the girl as they began their descent.

"Everything that I don't need is already packed away and ready to be stored in Unit Four-Beta as soon as you give the signal," Mana replied. "Do I really have to go Japan? They've already got four Evas over there," Mana complained. "How many more could they possibly need?" she asked.

"Well, you saw the report on the last battle, Mana. Four Evas got taken down by a single Angel," Barnes said with a snicker. "I'd say they'll need someone who doesn't require a power cable all the time to help tip the balance in their favor once in a while," he added, referring to Unit 04-Beta's newly installed prototype battery system, which gave the Eva at least 4 hours and 37 minutes of activity at maximum power usage without a power cable attached to it.

"When should we let them know?" Mana asked him with a grin.

"Well, whenever you want to," Barnes replied, returning the grin.

"So... which one of them killed the Third Angel again?" Mana asked as the lights on the elevator descended.

"It was Commander Ikari's son. The newbie who had never received any training," Barnes said in response. Mana raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious? That monster I saw footage of ripping apart the Third Angel was being piloted by the F-N-G?" Mana asked, using the acronym that stood for Fucking New Guy. Barnes merely nodded his head in response. "Unbelievable," Mana muttered in contempt.

"Well, technically, the Eva went berserk after he lost consciousness, and finished the battle on its own," Barnes clarified.

"Are all Evas capable of that?" Mana asked Barnes curiously.

"Technically, yes. However, all production models have received more specialized restraints to prevent this, while only the prototypes and test models are at risk now," Barnes replied.

"Hm," Mana noised as the elevator soon came to a stop. Both of them stepped out into a hallway and went in separate directions, with Mana heading for the locker rooms while Barnes made his way to the control center. When Mana reached the locker room, she saw Harold Wagner already suited up and waiting for her as he leaned back against the doorway to the holding cages.

"Took you long enough," Harold quipped with a smirk as Mana passed him.

"Yeah, and you'll be wishing I'd taken longer after I kick your ass out there," Mana replied playfully.

"You're on," Harold shot back with a grin as he and Mana made their way to the holding cages.

* * *

**NERV Second Branch Outdoor Training Area...**

Out in a large open field, filled with hollow pillars that functioned as targets and cover, two Evangelions stood on opposite ends, miles apart from each other. Both Evas were test models derived from the flesh of the Angel Lilith. Both units had been grown from the same bit of DNA as well, as the zygote had split into two entities, growing into twin units. Since the original unit was going to be named Unit 04, the scientists working on the twins decided to simply call them Alpha and Beta. Unit 04-Alpha was currently wearing white and red-trimmed armor, with a helmet that looked exactly like that of the ADAM-derived Unit 03, which was being developed over in New Mexico.

Unit 04-Beta, however wore silver armor with red trim on it. The helmet of Unit 04-Beta was also different from Alpha in that it was almost identical to that of Unit 01, save for the lack of a horn in the front. Instead, a horn-like crest facing backwards graced the top of the unit's helmet, the top ridge of the crest covered in serrated edges.

Both units also had large shoulder pylons, but unlike most Eva shoulder pylons, these pylons were customized. In the center of each pylon's left and right flanking side was a large circle with a diagonal line cutting through the middle of it. Behind that thick diagonal line was a cartoonish drawing of the Third Angel.

It was basically the Ghostbusters logo with Sachiel in the place of the ghost, with the words ANGEL BUSTERS printed in red English letters below it in a small font. The appropriated logo had been Mana's idea after seeing footage of the battle between Unit 01 and Sachiel the previous year, with everyone at the base unanimously agreeing with it. The logo had been applied using a special heat and water-resistant coating so as to withstand the elements during training exercises.

Sitting in the entry plug of Evangelion Test Model Unit 04-Beta, Mana cracked her knuckles as she waited for Barnes to speak over the com. She looked out at the landscape beyond, seeing Unit 04-Alpha standing in the distance, waiting for her with a few large blocks set up between them for their exercise. Keeping Unit 04-B's hands holding its pistol securely, Mana opened the com and contacted the control room.

"How long until we can begin?" Mana asked. " _Just give us another minute to make sure everything's set up properly_ ," 2nd Lieutenant Carl Newman replied over the com. "I'm getting kind of restless out here," Mana said.

" _Just hold your horses, Airman. We need to make sure that the sensors are all set for this exercise. You can wait another forty seconds_ ," Barnes said over the com. "Yes, Colonel," Mana said with a sigh. "Oh, do I have to keep my power cable attached during this exercise?" Mana asked over the com.

" _Yes. We're not testing Unit Four-Beta by itself today, Kirishima. This is a combat exercise for both of you_ ," Barnes replied over the com. "Affirmative," Mana said, rolling her eyes as she reclined back in the seat. To alleviate the bordeom she was feeling, Mana started to sing softly to herself.

"Lose my head to the chemical freeway," she sang quietly to herself. "Comin' up on overload. In a mystic new dimension," Mana sang as she kept her eyes on the screen in front of her. " _Okay, everything's ready. Prepare for exercise in five... four... three... two... one... start!_ " Barnes announced over the com.

Mana stopped singing and grinned in anticipation. "Game time," she said to herself as she moved Unit 04-Beta into position. The large and mostly silver Eva held its up-scaled pistol defensively as Mana maneuvered it around the large pillars of the training field. She did her best to keep the power cable hidden from view by kicking up dirt over it every few feet.

"Come on, where are you?" Mana asked rhetorically as she scanned the field for signs of Wagner's white Unit 04-Alpha. Looking over at a pillar, she saw a shadow and a power cable coiled around behind it.  _Bingo_ , she thought to herself as she maneuvered the Eva around several pillars before finding an unplugged power cable on the ground next to a pallet rifle leaning against the pillar.

"What the!? Colonel, I thought we weren't allowed to detach our cables!" Mana exclaimed angrily over the com. " _He didn't_ ," Barnes said over the com. "But...  _oh_   _shit!_  This was a feint!" Mana gasped just as she turned her Eva to the side, seeing Unit 04-A, its power cable still attached, holding a pallet rifle aimed straight at her as it stepped out from behind a large block.

"Son of a  _bitch_ ," Mana swore. " _Fooled you!_ " Wagner said, just before he fired three short bursts of Bakelite rounds at Unit 04-Beta. Mana quickly forced the Eva to leap out of the way, but two rounds splattered against the left leg of the unit, splashing Bakelite out and slowly solidifying around the armor. Mana kept the Eva moving, knowing that it was the only way to minimize the hardening effect of Bakelite if it had covered any joints such as the Eva's knees, elbows, or ankles.

Unit 04-Alpha fired another burst at Unit 04-Beta, which dove for cover before returning fire with its pistol, hitting the white and red-trimmed Eva in the chest and groin with three rounds of Bakelite. Unit 04-Beta fired again, hitting the groin area twice more, letting the orangish red substance cover the inner thighs of the Evangelion. " _That's a low blow, Kiri!_ " Wagner spat.

"I told you not to call me that," Mana growled as she took cover behind a pillar and fired a few rounds blindly before reloading the Eva-scaled pistol. There were eight training rounds in the magazine, and they were the same size as a normal round for the upscaled weapon. Controlling her breathing, Mana carefully peeked around the large hollow pillar.

Unit 04-Alpha was nowhere to be seen, but large flakes of dried Bakelite showed a path behind another block nearby. "That's right, flake you bastard," Mana said with a smirk. "Unless it's another trap," she then told herself with a frown.  _Harold's getting smarter. Last time we did this, I practically owned him in every single round. Now he's learned how to out-think me. I feel kind of proud_ , Mana thought to herself a she slowly maneuvered Eva Unit 04-Beta around a large block, carefully checking her corners for signs of the other unit.

Carefully stepping out into the open again, Mana checked the ground for shadows, seeing many cast by the large pillars around her, until she noticed one moving towards her from behind. She waited a few seconds for the shadow to get closer, before she twisted the Eva's body and fell back against the ground, firing the pistol at the white Eva in front of her.

" _Oh shit!_ " Airman First Class Harold Wagner cried out in dismay as he realized that Mana had somehow caught on to his game.

Eight rounds filled with Bakelite impacted against the white and red-trimmed Evangelion, coating the helmet, shoulders, and knees. Unit 04-Beta kept squeezing the trigger until it clicked empty, before Mana pushed it up off of the ground and rushed Unit 04-Alpha, pushing it to the ground and holding its arms in place as the Bakelite began to dry and harden, locking the limbs in place.

"I win," Mana panted with a smile inside the entry plug. " _Yup. Okay, next round starts in five minutes. Mana, get the Bakelite removal gear and clean off Unit Alpha before the next round starts. This time, both of you will be using the rifles_ ," Barnes said over the com.

" _ **Affirmative**_ ," Mana and Harold reported over the com simultaneously.

* * *

**Housing Unit J-117, Perfection Valley Army Barracks, 5 Miles from NERV 2nd Branch HQ, Nevada, Later That Evening...**

Stepping inside the front door of the house, Mana Kirishima took off her shoes and let out a sigh as her mother walked past her into the living room. "I'm gonna miss this place," Mana said as she walked over to the couch and plopped herself down in front of the TV before grabbing the remote and turning it on.

" _You're nothing, Earth boy!  Go home and shave your giant head of smell with your bad self!_ "

Mana burst out laughing as she watched the cartoon that was playing on the TV.

Meanwhile, Aoi Kirishima looked at her daughter with a frown.

"Honey, don't just laze about," Aoi admonished her daughter. Mana rolled her eyes, as she shifted from sitting to laying, stretching herself out along the length of the couch as she rested her head on an arm rest. " _Mana_ ," Aoi said sternly.

"Oh, come on, mom! I'm tired," Mana whined.

"You're not tired, young lady. You're just lazy," Aoi said with a sigh.

"And? I don't see how that's a  _bad thing_ ," Mana retorted. "Besides, I've only got a few more days before I leave for Japan, and who knows how long I'll be stationed over there?" Mana added, inwardly cringing and fretting at the thought of being away from home for an unknown number of months. She wouldn't even have her mother to keep her company, as she'd already been set up to stay at an apartment complex where most of the other pilots were currently residing.

_The only other person who'll be going with me won't even be able to spend time with me unless I'm in the entry plug_ , Mana thought bitterly to herself. "Hey, Mom? Are you sure you can't be transferred over there with me?" Mana asked her mother.

"We've been over this before, Honey. You have to go by yourself, but you won't be living there alone. Inspector Kaji will be your guardian while you're over there," Aoi replied with a hint of regret in her voice.

"Right, who is that again?" Mana asked in response.

"You'll meet him  _and_  Commander Ikari in person after school on Friday," Aoi said in response.

"Wait, Friday? But I thought I wasn't leaving until Saturday?" Mana asked her mother as she sat up.

"That hasn't changed. The Commander and the inspector will be staying at the base overnight following their arrival," Aoi explained to her daughter. "So, you'll have plenty of time to make sure everything's packed before you-oh?" Aoi asked as Mana leaped off the couch and hugged her.

"I don't wanna go," Mana grumbled.

Aoi sighed as she slowly returned her daughter's embrace. "I know, Honey. But there's nothing we can do about it. You'll still be able to communicate with me and the others at the base, you know? It's not like you'll be completely cut off from us," Aoi said reassuringly as she ran a hand through her daughter's hair.

Mana said nothing, and simply stood there hugging her mother for several minutes.

The daughter of two Japanese-Americans, Mana Kirishima was ethnically pure Japanese. Her maternal and paternal grandparents had immigrated to the country in the late 1990's. Her mother and father, subsequently, had been born in the early to mid 2000's, and would later meet each other while serving in the U.S. Military. Her mother, born Aoi Shinozaki, worked as a mechanical engineer, while her father, Takuya Kirishima, was an Airforce pilot. Mana herself had been born shortly after 2nd Impact.

Aoi had dark brown hair, while Takuya had been born with red hair, a rarity among the Japanese. Mana had inherited her hair color from her father, while her blueish grey eyes were from her mother. She had also inherited her mother's love of machinery as well.

"So, would you like lasagna for dinner?" Aoi asked her daughter. Mana nodded her head quietly. "Then you have to let go of me," Aoi said to her daughter. With a resigned sigh, Mana reluctantly let go of her mother to allow the older woman to make her way into the kitchen.

* * *

**Perfection Valley High School, Nevada, North America, Friday, March 13, 2043**

Glancing out the window, Mana sighed as she thought about how today would be her last day at her school It would be the last day she'd get to be around her classmates, and it would be the last day she got to eat the moderately decent cafeteria food, or anything familiar. Her family, despite being of Japanese descent, had mostly eaten American cuisine for as long as Mana could remember. Anything that was a traditional Japanese meal was usually reserved for holidays or whenever her maternal grandparents would visit her.

She glanced down at her clothes, knowing that she would be forced to wear a uniform once she started attending school in Japan. She was currently wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt, with a bra underneath. She also had on a pair of white running shoes, although they were already tanned and covered in dirt and grass stains after only a few weeks of use.

_I'm gonna miss this place_ , Mana thought as she looked around at her classmates, seeing the bored faces of Kevin Spelling and Teri Hoffman as they struggled to give a shit about the class's current assignment. Back behind them, Marvin Sellers wrote down some notes, while Sandra Numeyer carefully doodled in her notebook. Patrick Harding lazily pretended to take notes, while Beatrice Furlong secretly texted on her phone, holding it in her lap out of sight of the teacher, who was writing a math equation on the board.

In the front of the class, Kenichi Pullman worked ahead in his math book, making sure to flip back to the class's current page whenever the teacher glanced back over his shoulder, while Matilda Smith simply watched the teacher write out the math equation with a bored look on her face. Kevin Matheson jotted down some notes before passing a small piece of paper to Arnold Calhoun behind him, who passed said paper to Samantha Johnson nearby.

Mana's observations were cut off suddenly, however, when her NERV phone did something it had never done before. It rang. Picking up the device and staring at it in disbelief, Mana felt the phone vibrate in her hand as it sent out an alert. Flipping it open, and ignoring the glare of the teacher and the stares of the other students, Mana read the words that she never expected to see while still in America.

ANGEL ALERT.

REPORT TO HQ ASAP.

Eyes as wide as saucers, Mana gasped in shock before gathering her school supplies and standing up. "Miss Kirishima, what's the problem?" Mr. Stamp asked her with a frown. Mana walked over to him and showed him the message on the phone.

Stamp's eyes widened in shock. "H-Here? But... I thought they only were attacking-" he was cut off when a siren went off outside. "Okay, everyone gather your things and head for the shelter. We've practiced this procedure before, so there's no need to panic," Mr. Stamp said. He then turned his attention to Mana, but she was already gone.

" _ATTENTION. ALL STUDENTS AND FACULTY PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE DESIGNATED SHELTERS IN A CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I SAY AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A DRILL_ ," the principal said over the intercom.

Running through the hallways, Mana ran into Harold, who already had his backpack on him. "You got the message too?" Harold asked her as they ran through the halls.

"Yeah! Never thought it would happen here, though!" Mana replied as she stopped at her locker to grab her backpack and shove her things inside. The doors to the other classrooms were already opening as their fellow students spilled out, followed by their teachers.

" _ATTENTION. ALL STUDENTS AND FACULTY PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE DESIGNATED SHELTERS IN A CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I SAY AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A DRILL_ ," the intercom repeated.

"Come on, Mana! We've gotta move!" Harold urged as the tide of students around them became larger and more difficult to maneuver through. He had to force himself back against a locker to keep from getting trampled.

"Hey, you've already got your stuff! Let me get mine!" Mana retorted as she started running over to him, pushing her way through several other students before grabbing his arm and dragging him along with her towards the main lobby. The two of them were just at the main doors of the school, running through throngs of students and faculty, when they saw a black car pull up near the stairs below outside. "Section Two," Mana muttered as she and Harold ran through the doors and down the steps outside, seeing a man in a black suit and shades already holding a door open for them.

* * *

**NERV Private Plane GS-343, Nearing NERV 2nd Branch, Around The Same Time...**

"My, my... look at these sections of black ink," Inspector Ryoji Kaji muttered as he read Mana Kirishima's full file. "I can't believe how much there is," he added with a smirk. "You'd almost think there was something Colonel Barnes wanted to hide," he concluded.

Sitting across from him, Gendo Ikari said nothing. He merely looked out the plan at the desert landscape below, partially covered in newly-planted forests, farms, and otherwise sparse vegetation following 2nd Impact. "Hm," Gendo mused as he saw what looked like a group of animals down below gathered together near a farm of some kind. He could get a good look at them, but they resembled large birds.

He pulled out a small map that he'd been given and checked the clock nearby, before looking at a paper that showed their travel plans. They were just passing over the Basset Ostrich Farm, if what he'd seen earlier was any indication. That meant they were getting closer to NERV 2nd Branch HQ.

"So, Commander, what do you think of all this black ink on Kirishima's file? Not just hers, but Wagner's as well?" Kaji asked him.

Gendo glanced at Kaji before giving the man's question some thought. "It's not meant to obscure information from me, Inspector. There are others who have access to the pilots' files, others who are not directly involved with NERV," Gendo explained. "Ah, so... the council has a secret they don't want anyone to know about?" Kaji asked, trying to pres Gendo for an answer.

"Actually, it is Colonel Barnes who wishes to hide something. The fact that both pilots' files have black marks in identical locations is a clue that the pilots themselves are not what is being hidden, but rather something they both are involved in," Gendo explained as vaguely and obtusely as possible.

Kaji raised an eyebrow at Gendo's statement. The man usually spoke in very short sentences, usually to remain intimidating, but to hear him actually speak at length about anything was intriguing to Kaji. "Any idea what he's trying to hide?" Kaji asked Gendo. "Like, maybe the two pilots having a secret child or something?" he added with a shrug.

"Not likely. Their medical records would have been heavily redacted if that were the case," Gendo replied. "No... it's most likely one of the weapons being developed alongside the Evangelions. The redacted data most likely pertains to the pilots' proficiency with said weapons," Gendo surmised, having only bits and pieces of information to go on. Lieutenant Colonel Barnes had been extremely evasive over the past several years regarding what his research team had been developing alongside the twin Eva units.

This was mostly because, as with Gendo, Fuyutsuki, and Ritsuko Akagi, Barnes knew about SEELE and their agenda. Gendo had figured this out only recently, after noticing a series of odd patterns throughout the years of reports delivered to him from the American Second Branch. Given that he himself was secretly plotting to advance his agenda in place of SEELE's, Gendo had decided that it would be interesting to find out how much Barnes knew.

With Gendo lost in his thoughts, Kaji decided to read through the pilots' files again, this time paying attention to Mana's profile in regards to her residence and psych profile. "Hm, attends Perfection Valley High School, lives with her mother, enjoys-wait... lives with her... m-mother?" Kaji asked incredulously.

Gendo, having heard Kaji's outburst, glanced at the spy. "Is something the matter?" Gendo asked Kaji coolly. Kaji held up the papers for him to see.

"Kirishima's mother is still alive," Kaji said in surprise.

"Yes. The girl's  _father_  was the one to take part in the contact experiment," Gendo explained nonchalantly. He had known about this for years now.

"Her... father? Interesting. I've noticed that all of the pilots have dead or missing mothers, but Kirishima here is the only one with a dead  _father_ ," Kaji said suspiciously. "Quite the coincidence that every pilot... and even  _potential pilot_  is missing a parent or two, isn't it?" Kaji asked Gendo knowingly.

"Indeed," Gendo replied curtly.

"Is this what Mari's father was killed over?" Kaji asked Gendo point-blank. "I know that the official statement says that he died in an accident, but I know that's not the truth. Goro Makinami was murdered, Commander, leaving his daughter an orphan until I picked her up. So tell me the truth right now. Was Makinami-san's murder a result of him finding out this information and trying to leak to the outside?" Kaji demanded in an even tone.

Gendo stared the spy in the eyes. "Partially, although I can assure you that I played no part in his demise. ," Gendo admitted. Kaji raised an eyebrow.

"It's only  _part_  of it? You know, no matter how much I ask Ritsuko, she never gives me any answers about the connection between the pilots and the Evas. I'm gonna ask you here and now, Commander... why all the dead parents?" Kaji asked him firmly.

"How much do you already know?" Gendo asked him in return.

"Only what I've already spelled out. But the puzzle is still missing a few pieces. What else was Special Agent Goro Makinami killed for?" Kaji asked Gendo with a glare.

"When we get back to Japan, Ritsuko will tell you what you wish to know. I will grant her permission," Gendo said, surprising Kaji. The spy had half-expected the man to pull out a gun and simply silence him right then and there.

"Do you know why contact experiments are a necessity?" Gendo asked Kaji, causing the man to raise an eyebrow.

"Not...  _entirely_. It's to make sure that the Evas can respond to a pilot, though, right?" Kaji asked him.

Gendo nodded his head. "That is correct, only not in the way that you are thinking, Inspector. You see, following my wife's absorption into Unit One, the late Doctor Naoko Akagi discovered that in order for the Eva to work, it needs to recognize the genetic code of its intended pilot. When the person initiating contact is absorbed by the Eva, their genetic code becomes recognized by both the beast itself and the computer system, allowing genetic relatives to pilot the cyborg without being absorbed themselves," Gendo explained... sort of. He was leaving out some very important details and changing several others for his explanation to the spy. He wouldn't  _dare_  tell the spy the whole truth, especially not this early in the game.

"And that's why Unit Zero was so difficult for Ayanami, right? She's an orphan, so you weren't able to get her biological parents or siblings for the task," Kaji surmised. Gendo nodded his head in affirmation.

"But... I read in reports that she was able to pilot Unit One without much trouble, even though the same dilemma should have existed for that unit as well," Kaji noted suspiciously.

"Well, Inspector, that is because Unit One is derived from Lilith, which is the mother of humanity and all life on Earth," Gendo said. He'd ordered Ritsuko to show Kaji around Terminal Dogma less than two weeks following his arrival in Tokyo-3, as a pre-emptive way of deterring the man from snooping around too much. Let the spy think he'd found something huge, without letting on to the fact that almost everyone with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant knew about Lilith's existence and location in Terminal Dogma.

"But Unit Zero... was derived from  _Adam_ , which is  _not_  connected to humanity. So... you just had to keep trying get Rei to synchronize with the Eva until it finally recognized her and accepted her as its pilot," Kaji rationalized. Gendo nodded his head, allowing Kaji to believe that he'd figured out the truth.

"But then... if Lilith is connected to all of humanity, why wouldn't it accept-oh, that's right. The Eva's have to be introduced to the pilots before they hit sexual maturity, because of the... uh, what did Ritsuko say? Something about... their brainwaves or hormone levels or something," Kaji said.

"Something like that," Gendo said.

" _But_... Asuka and Mari have both cross-synchronized with each other's Evas before, and both Unit Two and Unit Five are derived from Adam. Not only that, but Asuka and Mari have both been successful at passing the borderline," Kaji noted.

"Are you aware of the fact that Mari's father and Asuka's mother were both distant relatives?" Gendo asked Kaji. Kaji looked at him suspiciously.

"No... I wasn't aware of that. It never came up during any of the digging I've done over the years," Kaji replied skeptically.

Gendo smirked at him an nodded his head. While the genetic relationship between the late Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu and the late Goro Makinami was a distant one, they still shared enough of a family tree that Gendo could use it to support his lie about the contact experiments if anyone ever decided to do some digging. He still didn't know if Kaji could truly be trusted with the truth about the pilots' parents, but he knew that if he simply told the man off, he would eventually go snooping around and try to learn the truth in a way that could bite him later on, especially since Kaji's custodianship of both Asuka and Mari meant that disposing of him this early in the game would cause all sorts of problems for practically everyone.

No, it was best to give him some false information supported by facts in order to at least temporarily quench his thirst for knowledge and keep him from sticking his nose into places he shouldn't for a little while longer. Besides, Kaji was still useful to him as a way of gathering intel on SEELE and the United Nations. The American Government, on the other hand... that required gathering information directly from Lieutenant Colonel Conrad Barnes, who had staffed his base with so many former US military personnel that it would be almost impossible for SEELE to sink their claws into him without resorting to drastic measures.

Barnes' and his subordinates' loyalties were to their country first, and NERV second. That meant they didn't care about the U.N. Oversight Committee or anyone else. Well, that's how it was for most of them. Despite having mostly reliable people, Gendo knew that SEELE had infiltrated at least a few ranks within NERV 2nd Branch. Otherwise, Barnes wouldn't have been so cryptic with so many of his reports.

Soon, the phone behind Gendo rang, prompting the Commander to pick it up. "Yes?" Gendo asked into the receiver. His eyes soon widened, a sight that very few people had ever seen since his wife's death. Those people could be counted on one hand, in fact. "Here? Are you sure?" Gendo asked in disbelief.

"I see. How long until they've launched the Evas against it?" Gendo asked, prompting Kaji to lean forward to listen in better. Gendo nodded his head as the pilot relayed the information to him. "I understand. Follow the instructions given to you by them until further notice," Gendo said into the phone. "Thank you," he added before hanging up.

"So..." Kaji began.

"An Angel has appeared," Gendo said. Kaji stared at him blankly.

"An Angel... here?" Kaji asked him. Gendo nodded his head in response. Kaji rubbed the back of his head in astonishment. "But I thought they were all heading for Lilith in Japan," Kaji muttered. "What could an Angel be looking for out here?" he asked rhetorically.

"The twin Evangelions are both made from Lilith. It is possible that the Angel has detected them and mistaken them for the true Lilith," Gendo suggested.

Kaji leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Great," he said sarcastically. "Things can never be easy, can they?"

* * *

**NERV 2nd Branch HQ...**

Inside the control room, Barnes looked at the video footage of the Angel on the main screen. The control room was set up in a very similar fashion to the one at the Japan Branch. On the screen, the Angel appeared to be three bright multi-colored eyes connected to one another, with the center holding what appeared to be the core. Along the outer rim of the Angel's body were various flaps that resembled large eye lashes. The rest of the Angel's body was orange.

"Well, there's something you don't see every day," Barnes quipped as he looked at the bizarre creature on the screen. "How big is it?" he asked a nearby female technician. She quickly accessed the scan results from the sensors.

"At least four kilometers long. Each of the eye sections are a kilometer each, with the two bridges between them and the center being half a kilometer each. That's four kilometers all together," 2nd Lieutenant Cynthia Holbrand exposited.

"Whoo. Holy  _shit_ ," Barnes muttered with a whistle. "Damn, that's big. How tough is its A.T. Field?" he asked Holbrand.

"We can't get a reading on it, but all attempts at interception from satellite missiles have failed, and all orbital defenses have reported no progress with any of their weaponry," Holbrand reported. "Sir, it's starting to descend," she said suddenly.

"It's descending? Where's it heading, and how quickly?" Barnes asked her.

"Based on available data, the MAGI calculate that it's heading for... us! And it's moving at a rate of almost... crap! Communications have just been jammed. Tracking systems are also offline!" Holbrand exclaimed. "It's... it's the Angel! It's jamming our scanners!" she added in a panicked tone.

"Son of a bitch," Barnes muttered in response with a frown. "Alright, begin evacuation procedures. We've probably only got a few hours at the most before it hits us, and I want  _everybody_  out of here who doesn't need to be here. All non-essential personnel are to evacuate. I want all available transportation sent out to help in assisting civilian evacuations ASAP," Barnes announced.

"Colonel, Section Two reports that the pilots are now inside the base," 1st Lieutenant Monica Jones reported from her station.

"Colonel, we've just got word that a private plane has entered our airspace. They have a NERV identification code," 2nd Lieutenant Albert Durand called out. Barnes raised an eyebrow.

"What? Give me that," Barnes said as he grabbed a headset. "Attention aircraft, this is Lieutenant Colonel Conrad Barnes of NERV Second Branch. We currently have a Code Blue emergency in progress. Please deviate from your flight path and make your way to the nearest-" " _That will not be necessary, Colonel_ ," the voice of Gendo Ikari said over the line in passable English.

"Commander Ikari? Sir, due to the nature of the emergency, I must insist that you postpone landing unless you have absolutely no fuel left," Barnes said with a warning tone. " _I understand. We will be landing at the base shortly_ ," Gendo replied.

"Commander! I must insist that you vacate this airspace immediately," Barnes said firmly. " _I understand, but the schedule remains intact. We will be there shortly_ ," Gendo said coolly over the com.

Barnes scowled. "I will not be held responsible if you die, Commander," Barnes said. " _That is acceptable. I will see you soon_ ," Gendo replied before hanging up.

"Domineering... stubborn...  _asshole_ ," Barnes muttered under his breath. "How long until the pilots are ready!?" Barnes shouted in frustration.

"A couple more minutes, sir!" Jones reported from her station.

**Pilot Locker Room...**

"Shit!" Mana swore as she tripped over a bench before righting herself as she finished putting on her plug suit. Harold was standing right behind her as he activated the form-fitting function of his own plug suit.

"Hope you don't flounder like that with the Eva" Harold quipped.

"Kiss my ass," Mana spat. Harold grinned in response.

"Hey, if we survive this, I'll be sure to kiss you anywhere you want," he said with a smirk. "A little going away present for ya," he added huskily. Mana blushed slightly in response before turning away.

"I'll hold you to that," Mana said with a smile as she glanced back over her shoulder at Harold.

"I hope so. Today's your last full day here. It'd be a shame to let you go without one last dance, if you know what I mean," Harold replied.

"C-Come on, we need to keep moving," she said as she jogged through the exit of the locker room and made her way down a corridor leading to the Eva hangar.

**Inside the Evas, A Few Minutes Later...**

"So, what's the plan?" Mana asked from inside Unit 04-B's entry plug. " _The plan is for you to catch it after it descends to a certain distance. You'll be using the Trident to impale the core, but you need to keep it in your hands! Both you and Wagner will have to go without power cables for this, so make sure that you get the Michael Foxtrot before Unit Alpha runs out of power_ ," Barnes said over the com.

" _Uh, excuse me, Colonel? Did you say we're going to CATCH it? With our Evas' hands?_ " Harold asked incredulously over the com. " _Affirmative, Wagner. You'll be extending your A.T. Fields to slow it down, otherwise this thing will turn Perfection Valley into a crater the size of Lake Erie. Unit Alpha will focus on keeping the A.T. Fields in place to slow it down, while Beta will neutralize it after its descent has been slowed, at which point Beta will destroy the core using either the Trident or a sidearm if necessary. Failure here is not an option_ ," Barnes said over the com.

* * *

**NERV 2nd Branch Control Center, 30 Minutes Later...**

When the door to the control room slid open, Barnes turned his head to glare at the two men who had entered it. "Commander Ikari," Barnes said through gritted teeth as he marched over to greet Gendo and Kaji. "Let's get something straight, Commander. You may be in charge of NERV as a whole, but out here,  _I_  am in charge, and when I give you an emergency order for the purpose of protecting your life, I expect you to follow it, chain of command be damned," Barnes growled through clenched teeth.

Gendo simply nodded his head. "Are the Evas ready for launch?" Gendo asked in English, acting as though Barnes's little tirade had never even happened. Barnes's jaw dropped in disbelief at Gendo's nonchalant attitude.

"Yeah, they're... they're ready when we are, but... we've had to spend the past hour coordinating evacuation efforts while simultaneously trying to scan the Angel again from a distance," Barnes replied. "It hasn't been easy, and the damn thing keeps moving position in orbit. It won't stay still long enough for us to determine the exact location of its inevitable impact, and its not moving in a straight line either. The damn thing is swirling around like a piece of paper," Barnes added.

"What long-range weaponry do you have?" Gendo asked Barnes, again in passable English.

Barnes looked at him with a sigh. "Well... we've got the sniper rifle, but I doubt it'll do any good if we can't coordinate proper telemetry on the target," Barnes said. "We've also got another piece of equipment that I was hoping to keep a surprise for you, but... I'm afraid we'll have to use it out in the open," Barnes said.

"What is the weapon?" Gendo asked him.

Barnes looked around the room, seeing that only the essential staff had remained. "It's a weapon made from pieces of the Lance of Longinus," Barnes said. Gendo's eyes actually widened in surprise at this news.

"You... have the Lance of Longinus here?" Gendo asked him. Kaji had to do a double take as he heard Gendo's voice carry a surprised tone in it.

Barnes nodded his head. "Yep. It was originally stored in an old underground bunker not too far from here, but after the base was finished, we had it moved in secret. For the past seven years, we've been taking small pieces of it and forging them into a wire frame for a special weapon to use against the Angels. I call it the Trident," Barnes explained.

"It contains a thin but solid rod running through it made from pieces of the Lance of Longinus, meaning that it'll take out any Angel it's used against. It'll go through the toughest A.T. Field like crap through a goose," Barnes added. "It is, without any doubt, the most powerful weapon we have against the Angels... and that is why I refuse to have it wasted by throwing it into space," Barnes said.

"So, you're just going to keep it locked up?" Kaji asked him in English.

"No. We're gonna use it, but only after the Angel has gotten close enough to us that we can retrieve it after its been used," Barnes replied. "Once the Angel is dead, you guys will be taking the Trident to Japan, along with Unit Four Beta," Barnes said.

"Colonel! We have scanners online again!" Holbrand called out from her console. "The Angel is descending towards the valley floor at a rate of eighty miles per hour," she added.

"All right, patch me through to the pilots. It's game time," Barnes said as he approached the console and grabbed a headset. Gendo and Kaji followed him while maintaining a respectable distance. "Okay, Kirishima, Wagner, do you read me, over?" Barnes asked into the com.

" _We reach you, Colonel. This is Airman Kirishima, standing by,_ " Mana replied over the com. "And Wagner?" Barnes asked. " _Still here, sir. Just waiting for the bell to ring_ ," Harold replied.

"Prepare for launch, but do not move from the deployment boxes until I give the signal. Wagner, that goes for you especially, since your Eva hasn't been given any upgrades yet. You'll need as much backup battery power as you can get," Barnes said over the com, prompting Kaji to raise and eyebrow. Gendo remained passive as he watched the screen.

**Inside the Eva Hangar...**

Mana watched as a countdown timer appeared on her screen. " _Okay, preparing Evas for deployment. Counting down and selecting deployment locations. Standby for further orders_ ," 1st Lieutenant Monica Jones said over the com. "Copy that, Jones. Unit Four-Beta standing by," Mana said over the com.

" _Begin pre-launch sequence now_ ," Jones said. Mana nodded her head. "Understood, pre-launch auto cycle engaged, preparing for deployment," Mana relayed over the com as she pressed some holographic buttons in front of her. The countdown timer was now at the 00:00:30 second mark.

Mana smirked as she watched it count down.

00:00:27... 00:00:26... 00:00:25... 00:00:24... 00:00:23...

Mana checked her instrument panel above her, before making sure that her harness was securely attached to the pilot seat. Unlike most other Evangelion entry plugs, Units Alpha and Beta had safety harnesses and seatbelts for their pilots. Watching as all lights flahsed green, Mana returned her attention to the screen in front of her, seeing the footage of the Angel as it approached.

00:00:16... 00:00:15... 00:00:14... 00:00:13... 00:00:12...

"Our first Angel," she said with a grin. She kept her eyes on the timer as it neared zero.  _Finally. This is what we've been training for. Please, Dad, if I'm knocked out, keep the Eva fighting until that thing is dead_ , Mana thought silently as she waited for the timer to reach zero.

_'Remember, Mana. I'll always be with you... even if you can't see me,' Sergeant Takuya Kirishima said to his 5 year-old daughter as he put on his plug suit and prepared to enter the entry plug of Evangelion Test Model Unit 04-Beta._

_'You're silly, Daddy! I can always see you!' Mana said with a giggle. Takuya gave his daughter a hug as he forced himself to smile and hold back the tears before letting go._

_'One day... you'll understand what I mean. Until then, you listen to your mother and do what she tells you, okay? Remember, Mana, I love you,' Takuya said before he stood up and walked away, looking back at his wife and daughter one last time._

Mana soon forced the memory out of her head as she returned her focus to the countdown timer.

00:00:10... 00:00:09... 00:00:08... 00:00:07... 00:00:06...

"Five... four... three... two... one...  _Let's rock_ ," Mana said with a grin, just before she felt the deployment box lift up. "Express elevator to Hell, goin' up!" Mana let out as she felt herself and the Eva climbing higher through the deployment shaft.

* * *

**Perfection Valley, Topside...**

Posed in a runner's crouch just outside of the deployment box, Evangelion Test Model Unit 04-Alpha watched as the giant orange amoeba fell through the sky. Inside the entry plug, Harold Wagner gulped as he saw the video feed on his screen showing the MAGI's calculations for its trajectory. It would be heading in his direction in just a few seconds as it slowly spun around like a leaf on the wind.

"Target is in sight. Awaiting orders," Harold said nervously. " _Affirmative, Wagner. Prepare for action in T-Minus twenty seconds_ ," Jones said over the com. "Roger," Harold replied.

Despite how brief twenty seconds were in the grand scheme of things, for Harold, those twenty seconds were akin to a lifetime as feelings of dread, anxiety, excitement, and even hope grew inside of him. He felt hope because he desperately wanted to live and he  _hoped_  that he would survive his first battle.

_If a newbie with practically minimal training can take on three Angels and win, then so can two proper pilots with over TEN YEARS of training_ , Harold thought to himself. " _On my mark_ ," Jones said. Harold gulped in anticipation.

" _Mark._ "

Eva Unit 04-A shot forward, detaching its power cable after five seconds, starting the six-minute timer for the internal battery. Meanwhile, inside Unit 04-B, Mana had 4 hours and 37 minutes of internal battery power to keep her going as she made her Eva sprint towards the expected landing zone of the Angel. Both Evangelions moved at frightening speeds over the valley floor, their mighty footfalls sounding as thunder every time their armored feet made contact with the ground.

* * *

**NERV 2nd Branch HQ Control Room**

Gendo and Kaji looked at the countdown timers on the walls. "Four hours and thirty-seven minutes?" Gendo asked Barnes. Barnes simply smirked at him in response, nodding his head in smug satisfaction.

"That's why you're taking her with you. You'll need an Eva with that kind of flexibility out there in the field," Barnes said. "Couple that with the Trident and Kirishima's combat training, and Unit Four-Beta is the most dangerous Evangelion on the planet," Barnes added confidently.

Looking back at the screen, Gendo finally noticed the ANGEL BUSTER logo on the shoulder pylons of the Evas. "Colonel... what are those markings?" Gendo asked curiously. Barnes simply looked away and whistled in an... "innocent" manner at Gendo's question.

* * *

**Perfection Valley, Topside...**

Evangelion Unit 04-Alpha skidded to a halt as it reached the landing zone. Several kilometers away, a large weapon box had risen up, holding the Trident within it. Harold could see Unit 04-Beta approaching in the distance. Returning his focus to the gigantic Angel above him, Harold held out Unit 04-A's hands and deployed its A.T. Field at full strength.

A flash of orange hexagons appeared in the air, and a rush of wind was sent downward, pushing back against Unit Alpha as Sahaquiel began to slow its descent. Harold looked at the timer on his screen with a grimace.

00:04:35 SECONDS.

"Shit! Mana, do you have the Trident!?" Harold cried out as he saw a glow beginning to emanate from the Angel's body. "What the..." he trailed off as a dark section of the body circling the core began to unravel itself, revealing a body on the interior , one with a mask similar to the Third Angel. The new Angel began to reach down towards Unit Four-Alpha, stretching out long black three-clawed hands towards the Evangelion.

00:04:08 SECONDS.

" _Wagner, I'm almost there! Just hold on!_ " Mana cried out over the com. Harold didn't hear her. He was completely transfixed by the sight of the smaller Angel reaching towards him, before it grabbed his Eva's arms and began to twist them. Harold cried out in pain as the Angel applied pressure to the Eva's wrists.

Unit 04-Beta ran faster, its armored feet leaving large imprints in the ground below.

00:03:30 SECONDS.

Inside Unit 04-Beta, Mana scowled as she saw the Angel engaging Unit 04-Alpha. "So... ya like playing dirty, eh? Well, two can play at that game, asshole," Mana growled as she forced Unit 04-Beta to run faster.

00:02:45 SECONDS.

The core of the Angel was obscured now by the dark body protruding from around it, effectively shielding it from attack. As Unit 04-Beta finally reached the epicenter of the struggle, she held up the Trident to strik, only for one of the eye-lash appendages to swoop down and knock her over, sending the weapon falling out of the Eva's hands. "Shit, no!" Mana cried out.

00:02:10 SECONDS.

As Mana brought Unit 04-Beta back up onto its feet, another appendage swung out to hit her in the front, knocking her back to the ground again. Mana cried out as her Eva rolled over before staying on its back.

" _Mana! I can't hold it much longer! Uuueeaarrrrrggh!_ " Harold cried out in pain over the com.

00:01:15 SECONDS.

Mana narrowed her eyes at the Angel as she reached up to her left pylon and retrieved her progressive knife. She quickly righted the Eva before before ducking to avoid another swipe from the Angel's lashes. Looking at the underside, she saw that the Angel's core was now covered by a protective membrane, and the wouldn't be enough space between it and the ground for her to properly position the Trident.

00:00:50 SECONDS.

Looking up at the lashes again, an idea formed in Mana's head. Quickly lunging forward to grab the Trident, Mana grabbed the weapon and then rolled the Eva over until it was no longer underneath the Angel.

00:00:40 SECONDS.

Quickly getting up, she held the Trident in one hand as she backed up and then rushed forward, leaping into the air to grab a hold of one of the lashes and swing the Eva upwards. As the Eva was brought up into the air, Mana forced it to let go of the appendage so that she could fall onto the Angel's backside... or top.

00:00:25 SECONDS.

Grabbing on to the Angel's backside, Mana forced Eva Unit 04-B to crawl over to the center of the beast, where she could see only a large orange covering.  _Shit, i can't see the core! I... no, the Trident can sense it. That's what Barnes told me_ , Mana thought to herself as she raised the weapon, feeling a strange sensation in it as she aimed for the Angel's core.

00:00:10 SECONDS.

" _Mana, hurry! I'm almost out of time!_ " Harold cried out as he struggled with the Angel below. Mana aimed the Trident, coiled the Eva's arm back, and breathed.

00:00:02 SECONDS.

She narrowed her eyes and then grinned as she threw the weapon forward with all her Eva's strength, its three tips piercing the hide of the Angel and piercing its core, shooting out the underside to stick itself in the ground.

00:00:00 SECONDS.

Unit 04-A collapsed as the Angel fell onto it, the body on the underside becoming lifeless as its core was removed. The 4-kilometer long Angel fell to the ground with a loud series of thuds from each part that connected with the Earth. Eva Unit 04-B lost its balance and fell forward, sliding down the backside and tumbling down onto the ground below where it landed in a heap.

Slowly pushing the Evangelion up onto its knees, Mana forced the cyborg to crawl over to the fallen Angel. "Harold... can you hear me?" Mana called out worriedly over the com. "Harold?" she asked again.

" _Get... me... out of here!_ " Harold responded angrily over the com. Mana smiled at hearing her friend's voice. "Just hold on a little while, Harold. We'll get ya out of there," Mana said with a relieved sigh. She then switched over to a private com channel and sent a signal for Harold to do the same in his Eva. "Besides, I can't just leave you here all night. You  _did_  make me a promise earlier, and I intend to make you keep it," she said with a grin.

* * *

**NERV 2nd Branch HQ, Hours Later...**

Looking at the two battle-scarred Evas locked in the hangar, Gendo walked alongside Barnes on a catwalk. Kaji followed closely behind them as they neared the entrance to the control box and stepped into a small room before walking up a short flight of stairs and opening another door step inside. "So, what do you think so far?" Barnes asked Gendo.

"I believe the Eva and the Trident will both prove to be instrumental later down the road," Gendo replied.

"Hm. Instrumental, eh? Are you referring to the Human Instrumentality Project?" Barnes asked as he glanced around the otherwise empty room. Gendo stared at him with a blank face. "Oh, don't give me that. You and I both know what the Committee is really after," Harold said.

"Do they know about the Lance?" Gendo finally asked Barnes. Kaji was busy leaning back against a terminal as he listened in on the two men conversing.

"If they didn't know before, they do  _now_ ," Barnes replied. "I was hoping to keep it confidential until we'd sent it over to Japan, as a little present. But now... I'm sure SEELE is already cooking up a scheme to get their hands on it  _and_  the Trident. That's why I'm gonna send the Trident with Unit Four-Beta. I'll give the access code for its container to Kirishima," Barnes said.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Gendo asked him. Barnes shrugged his shoulders in response, scoffing at Gendo.

"Please, for all I care, SEELE can kiss my ass," Barnes said. "I know you and spy-boy over here are gonna report half of what I say during the next meeting you have with them, but... I don't care at this point. You see... you're not the only person with eyes and ears watchin' SEELE as they try to... obtain some bizarre immortality or whatever," Barnes said.

"Say what?" Kaji asked, confused by Barnes's words. Barnes glanced at him with furrowed brows.

"You don't know? The Human Instrumentality Project? You don't know anything about it?" Barnes asked the younger man.

"I know that the official statement is... untruthful, but I've never been able to get any deeper," Kaji admitted.

"Well... I can't really say much here, but... those old guys you're spying on and working for simultaneously? They're fuckin' crazy. Every goddamn one of 'em," Barnes said with contempt. "See, according to a couple of little birdies I've got listenin' in on 'em, those old bastards apparently plan to make themselves gods or something after the Angels have all been defeated. I don't know the  _exact_  details, but I  _do know_  that they plan to use one or more of the Evangelions to make it happen, and I'm positive that the big giant marshmallow you've got locked up in your basement back home is essential to their plan," Barnes said.

"Not only that, but I've heard that they're already working on at least a dozen next-generation Evangelions over in Germany and China. And they're  _all_  derived from Adam. You and I both know what'll happen if Lilith makes physical contact with Adam, even if it's only a clone," Barnes added as he looked Gendo in the eyes.

"You believe they plan to merge an Adam-derived Evangelion with Lilith to achieve their goal?" Gendo asked him. Barnes simply shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I don't know specifics, but I do know that they're also looking for the remains of the original Adam as part of their plan, since apparently those remains went missing some time last year," Barnes replied as he glanced over in Kaji's direction. "Anyway, my guess is that they're planning to cause Third Impact while Adam and Lilith are both under their control... somehow. Again, I don't  _how_  doing this is suppose to grant any of them  _godhood_ , but I  _did_  say that the fuckers were crazy, didn't I?" Barnes said.

"No kidding," Kaji said, wide-eyed at Barnes' tirade.

"Also, let me tell ya, right now, that if you breathe a single word to the wrong person, they'll make sure you end up like your old mentor, Makinami," Barnes said.

Kaji's eyes widened. "You know about Makinami-san?" Kaji asked him with wide eyes. "Of course. I was one of the guys he was leakin' secrets to back before SEELE had him killed. Hell, half of what I've just told you came from documents he sent to me just before he died," Barnes said, folding his arms and leaning back against the main control panel. "I've got all of the stuff he was trying to leak hidden away down here. I'll have it all ready for you to take back home tomorrow," Barnes said.

Barnes then turned to look at Gendo. "Is something wrong?" Barnes asked the older man.

"Are you at all concerned about what SEELE will do to you if they hear what you've told us?" Gendo asked him bluntly.

"Pfft!  _Hell no_ ," Barnes said. "I'm concerned for my pilots. That's why I'm sending Mana out with you guys tomorrow. With that prototype battery system, her Eva's going to be a prime target for sabotage, especially with if everything I've heard about SEELE and their plans turns out to be true. If I'm right, you're gonna need Mana and Unit Four-Beta," Barnes said.

"Anyway, I'll be sending Wagner your way as soon as the S-Two Engine is properly finished and installed in his Eva. Then you'll have two Evas that can go without a power cable for more than six minutes," Barnes said. "So if SEELE  _does_  plan on trying to gain access to Lilith through force after all of the Angels are dead, you'll have a sizable enough defense," Barnes added.

"Are you sure that SEELE won't sabotage the transportation for Unit Four-Beta?" Gendo asked Barnes. Barnes grinned in response.

"Oh, I know that they'll try, but they won't succeed. Trust me, I've kept them in the dark about what we've been doin' here for at least seven years. I can hold 'em off a few more months. After that, the ball's gonna be in your court," Barnes said.

"Don't fuck it up," he added sternly as he looked Gendo in the eyes. He then glanced over at Kaji. "So... any more questions?" Barnes asked the two men.

"Yeah," Kaji said. "Is there anything else we should know about Kirishima-san?" Kaji asked him. Barnes merely smiled in response.

"Well... she's had some special weapons training, and she has a few permits and licenses for a handful of small arms, like the M-P-5 sub-machine gun, and... a few different types of pistols. Wagner has all of that too. Don't forget, this is America, and we...  _really_  love our guns," Barnes said with a smile. "Oh, being that she's a pilot for a giant war machine and all, she's also got some vehicle licenses as well, so she can drive you fellas back home after you land," Barnes said jokingly.

"Citizens in Japan aren't allowed to drive on their own until they've graduated high school," Gendo said curtly.

Barnes frowned at that. "Oh. Damn, Mana's gonna be pissed when she learns about  _that_. She worked really hard to get that license," he muttered, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Um, say... I've got one more question," Kaji said tentatively.

"Yeah?" Barnes asked him.

"Why exactly was Mana's  _father_  chosen for the contact experiment instead of her  _mother_?" Kaji asked him.

"Takuya Kirishima wasn't  _chosen_ , Inspector. He  _volunteered_  for it. Mana's  _mother_  was the original candidate, but... well, I guess Sergeant Kirishima must've found out what had happened to... you know, all of the others, and took his wife's spot at the last minute," Barnes said, keeping a few important details to himself as he looked between Kaji and Gendo.

"Huh. So... what about Wagner's mother? Did the boy's parents not know about what had happened to the other pilots' mothers, or-" "No. Harold's mother was absorbed by Unit Alpha just before Mana's father was absorbed by Unit Beta," Barnes said.

"So, Sergeant Kirishima volunteered after learning about Wagner's mother?" Gendo asked him.

"No. The two contact experiments were both scheduled for the same day. Sergeant Kirishima simply found out through some other means, because this was  _before_  I was placed in charge. Kirishima and Wagner's absorptions happened in mid-twenty-thirty-one, while I wasn't put in charge of this place until mid-twenty-thirty-five, shortly after General Dobson died in that 'mysterious' accident following his infamous dispute with the U.N. Oversight Committee at a summit in London," Barnes explained.

"So... that's how I went from being second-in-command to being in charge," Barnes said. "Now, I'd like to show you gentlemen a few more... tricks we've got hidden in the Evas' new armor," Barnes said as he turned around and brought up a menu on a monitor nearby.

* * *

**NERV 2nd Branch HQ, Saturday, March 14, 2043...**

Standing on the tarmac while wearing blue jeans, a black T-shirt, and a brown flight jacket, Mana Kirishima watched as Evangelion Unit 04-Beta was lifted into the air from its specialized deployment box by an even more specialized plane. Mana sighed as she turned around to look back at the farewell group standing behind her. Her mother, clad in her NERV jumpsuit, had a tear in her eyes. Marching over to her mother, Mana threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly one last time.

"I'll call you as soon as we touch down," Mana said as she pulled away from her mother.

"I'll be waiting," Aoi said in response, biting back the tears. Both females nodded at each other before Mana walked back over to her duffel bag and picked it up. The rest of her luggage had all been hidden away in the various compartments on Unit 04-Beta's armor.

The walk to the plane was a short one, but every step that Mana took towards it felt as though she were walking a mile the further she got from home. As she reached the mobile staircase that led up to the cabin door of the plane, Mana sucked in a breath before looking up. She silently marched up the steps until she reached the summit. Turning around one last time, Mana look back at her mother, Lieutenant Colonel Barnes, Harold Wagner, and all of the other personnel who were able to spend some time saying goodbye.

Mana made sure to memorize this sight, before she slowly nodded her head at them and turned around to walk into the plane. She carried her duffel bag over to a chair inside a rather nice looking lounge. "What the... what the hell kind of plane is this?" Mana asked rhetorically as she noticed the small desk nearby, along with a handful of folded bed-seats lining the back area, next to a mini-refrigerator and a bathroom stall.

"This is a private plane for use by NERV commanding personnel, Miss Kirishima," the cold and intimidating voice of Gendo Ikari spoke to her in passable English. She flinched before she turned to face him. "C-Commander Ikari," Mana choked out as she looked the man up and down.

The door to the bathroom soon opened and Kaji stepped out to greet her. "Hey there, Kirishima-san," Kaji said, also in English. "So... how's your Japanese?" Kaji asked her.

Deciding to answer him in Japanese, Mana turned away from Gendo. "It's my second language, after English but before Spanish," Mana replied in Japanese.

"Ah, well then, that should make conversing with you much easier," Kaji said with a smile. "By the way, I'm Inspector Ryoji Kaji. I'll be your guardian while you stay in Japan," Kaji said as he reached a hand out to her. Mana eyed him warily before reaching out with her free hand to shake Kaji's hand.

Mana then turned to face Gendo and held a hand out to him, testing the waters. Gendo was still for a moment, before he mechanically reached out and shook Mana's hand briefly, pulling back quickly with the speed of a viper striking. Mana noted Gendo's discomfort with some sense of satisfaction.

_A man who would abandon his own child like you did... Ikari, you're nothing more than a piece of trash compared to my own father. Shame, If my dad's soul wasn't trapped inside the Eva, I'd love to see him kick your ass, Commander_ , Mana thought to herself as she took a seat next to a table, with Kaji sitting across from her.

_'I'll always be with you, even if you can't see me.'_

While she hadn't understood her father's parting words to her at first, Mana eventually learned what her father had meant after Lieutenant Colonel Barnes had "accidentally" left his computer unguarded around her once a few years back. The information she'd discovered inside those sensitive documents had shaken her to the core, and she'd almost gone insane from the truth, but she'd managed to hold herself together long enough to confront Barnes over it when he'd returned from wherever he had gone.

It had been a secret between her, Barnes, and even her own mother, who had learned from her father just what was going to happen during the contact experiment. Barnes had kept Mana and Aoi's knowledge of this secret from everyone, including his own superiors in NERV. He'd had a reason for letting Mana learn the truth, and only Mana had been told that reason.

Currently sitting across from Kaji, Mana pushed that reason to the back of her mind as she began asking questions regarding her new living arrangements in Japan, all the while keeping Gendo in her peripheral vision. Keeping her primary attention on Kaji, Mana listened as he talked about his two charges, Mari Illustrious Makinami and Asuka Langley Sohryu. Internally, Mana frowned after learning about Asuka's rank. She was usually the one giving orders when she and Harold had worked together in training exercises, so it would be... interesting to have to take orders from a fellow pilot from then on.

As the plane took off, Mana looked out the window below watching with a frown as the figures on the tarmac became smaller as they got farther away. Looking out the window into the air, Mana soon saw the shape of Unit 04-B ahead of them as they caught up to the transport plane.  _We'll be in Japan soon, Dad_ , Mana thought as she watched the silver and red-trimmed giant being carried through the air.

* * *

**ENDING THEME: Cosmic Castaway, by Electrasy**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT TIME**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Mana introduces herself to the other pilots, while a series of mysterious disappearances deep within NERV HQ cause Misato to begin an investigation that may just be her last if she isn't careful.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: So... how many references did everyone catch? For the two non-American reference, those would be Eva Unit 04-Beta's color scheme, silver with red trim, being a reference to Ultraman, and the second is Mana's introduction, which is a clear reference to Isamu Dyson's famous hand jet motion from Macross Plus (1994).
> 
> So... to be clear, Mana Kirishima is the only Eva pilot with a still-living mother. She is also the only Eva pilot, other than Rei, who knows the truth about how the Evas really work. And she has a secret agenda of her own, or rather, a secret mission given to her by Lieutenant Colonel Barnes, while she's in Japan. Does anyone care to guess what that mission is?
> 
> Hint: it may or may not potentially involve a certain beer-drinking penguin... in addition to witchcraft and copious amounts of cocaine.
> 
> Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed reading this episode.
> 
> As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of this episode and/or story so far in your reviews!


	11. Eve Of Terror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mana Kirishima introduces herself to her fellow pilots at school, while a new Angel with terrifying abilities manages to sneak inside the Geofront and enter NERV HQ!

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

This episode of REWIRED is going to be a bit of a horror-themed episode. This episode will also feature a new Angel, named Eve. I've named the new Angel Eve because... well, honestly it was just the first thing that popped into my head.

Music I listened to while writing this episode includes  _Neon Genesis Evangelion OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu and Masamichi Amano and Yoichi Murata,  _Titan A.E. Original Score_  (2000) by Graeme Revell,  _John Carpenter's THE THING_  (1982) by Ennio Morricone & John Carpenter & Alan Howarth, and  _Blue Gender_  (1999 - 2000) by Kuniaki Haishima.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _Neon Genesis Evangelion OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _Misato_ ,  _Ritsuko_ ,  _Rei-I_ ,  _Asuka Strikes_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _F02 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_ ,  _E01 - Decisive Battle_ ,  _E01 - Decisive Battle TV ReMaster_ ,  _E05 Fast - The Beast TV ReMaster_.

Music From  _Titan A.E._  (2000):  _Start Running, Keep Running_ ,  _Earth Is Never Lost/Mother Drej_.

Music From  _John Carpenter's THE THING_  (1982):  _Burn It_ ,  _Fuchs_ ,  _Bestiality_ ,  _Main Theme - Desolation_ ,  _Humanity Part 1_ ,  _Shape_ ,  _Solitude_.

Music From  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998):  _E5 - Fast Tempo, Rhythm Only_ ,  _E-2 Without Brass_ ,  _A-16 Theme of NERV_ ,  _E-1 Decisive Battle_.

Music From  _Blue Gender_  (1999 - 2000):  _Escape ID_ ,  _Marine_ ,  _Key_ ,  _Tetany_ ,  _Preset_ ,  _Amal_ ,  _Sign_ ,  _Milankovitch_ ,  _Blue_ ,  _Cure_ ,  _Random Worm_ ,  _Dead Tech_ ,  _Nothing_.

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Misato_  (School in the morning),  **02**.  _Shape_  (First encounter),  **03**.  _Random Worm_  (Misato begins her search),  **04**.  _Burn It_  (Horrific discovery),  **05**.  _Start Running, Keep Running_  (Chased by Eve),  **06**.  _E-2 Without Brass_  (Trapped by Eve),  **07**.  _E01 - Decisive Battle TV ReMaster_  (Montage of LNG construction),  **08**.  _Marine_  (Final chase),  **09**.  _E05 Fast - The Beast TV ReMaster_  (Showdown in the hangar).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**10**.  _F02 -_ _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 11: Eve Of Terror**

* * *

**Tokyo-3 High School, Wednesday, March 18, 2043**

After putting her things at her desk, Hikari Horaki made her way over to the doorway of the class room and watched as her fellow students slowly entered the room. She looked down at the checklist she'd made and marked off each student who entered the room, occasionally glancing down at the bottom where a new name was listed. She soon heard the loud and boisterous voices of two particular students as they neared the room, prompting her to step slightly out of the doorway to watch them.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya, Red!" Toji Suzuhara grumbled as Asuka hounded him. Asuka had a flustered and angry look on her face as Toji rolled his eyes at her. "All ya ever do is harp on me when I screw up," Toji said gruffly as he entered the class room.

"Then pay more attention! Or maybe you don't need my help anymore, Mister Big Shot!" Asuka barked at him as she followed him into the class room. Standing at the doorway, Hikari watched as Asuka continued nagging Toji all the way to his desk, before she noticed a girl with dark red hair sitting in the back.

 _Hm... I don't remember seeing her come in. Wait, aren't we supposed to be getting another student or pilot from overseas? That's right, we are, but she's supposed to be an American. This girl looks completely Japanese. She must be someone I just don't pay much attention to_ , Hikari thought as she noticed that the red-head appeared completely Japanese, unlike Asuka and Mari, both of whom had definite Anglo-features present on their faces.

Hikari silently watched as the rest of the class entered the room in small numbers, with Kensuke, Shinji, and Rei soon entering the room together. "And my dad says that the new pilot should be starting school with us  _today_ ," Kensuke said with a grin. In the back row, the red-headed girl raised an eyebrow as she caught parts of Kensuke's statement.

"Really?" Shinji asked him. He hadn't heard anything about a new addition to the pilot roster. Then again, he rarely ever asked about that kind of thing anyway.

"Yeah, and she's supposed to be American," Kensuke replied, causing Asuka to turn her head in his direction.

"What's this about an American?" Asuka asked him.

"Oh, the new pilot who's joining you guys is an American," Kensuke said as he turned to look at the German girl.

"We're getting  _another_  Eva pilot?" Toji asked him curiously. The city already had  _four_  Evangelions and pilots protecting it. In Toji's mind, adding a  _fifth_  one just seemed a bit excessive.

"Great, and they're an  _American_ ," Asuka grumbled. Everyone looked at her curiously. "What?" she asked as she noticed their stares.

"Well... you sound kind of upset by the fact that the new pilot is American. Why is that such a big deal?" Shinji asked her curiously. Sure, he'd heard about the various stereotypes regarding Americans, but since he'd never met any in person, he'd tried keeping an open mind about such things, especially now with two foreigners, Asuka and Mari, fighting alongside him and Rei in the war against the Angels.

"There are three problems with having an American pilot. They'll be overpaid, oversexed, and over  _here_ ," Asuka spat, referencing an old saying that European Allied forces had held about Americans all the way back in World War II.

"Watch it,  _Kraut_ ," came a female voice from nearby. Asuka turned her head to look around the room for the source, knowing that it had to be the American pilot, but she saw no one who looked remotely American, or even  _half-Japanese_ , apart from Mari, who wasn't even in the room. Confused, she asked the others if they'd heard the voice as well.

Looking around the room, Rei noticed the red-headed girl sitting in the back. After making sure that Asuka was looking away, she nodded her head at her, having encountered the girl at NERV HQ on Sunday after Commander Ikari had returned. Mana silently nodded her own head in acknowledgement of Rei before turning to look away, prompting Rei to do the same.

"Yeah, but I don't see anyone who could've said it," Shinji said, believing just like everyone else that the American transfer student would be either wholly or partially white, much like Asuka and/or Mari. Meanwhile, back over in her seat, the red-head rolled her eyes as the last of their fellow students entered the room. Walking in just behind fellow students Kiyone Hagino and Senna Makube, Mari Illustrious Makinami stopped in her tracks and sniffed the air, forcing fellow student Ichiro Mafune to step around her to get to his seat. Still sniffing the air, Mari soon looked over in the new girl's direction and tilted her head.

Walking over closer to the girl, Mari leaned in to sniff her. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked Mari in bewilderment, catching the attention of everyone in the room as the teacher stepped inside. Mari grinned as she took a big whiff of the red-headed girl, prompting her to lean back to get away from her.

Leaning in closer, Mari soon saw the dog tags partially hidden under the girl's uniform top, further confirming her suspicions. "LCL," Mari said quietly to the girl, causing her eyes to widen considerably. "I can smell it on you. Welcome to Tokyo Three...  _Kirishima-san_ ," Mari whispered to her with a smile. Her breath caught in her throat at just how quickly she had been found out, and all without having to say a single word.

Meanwhile, in the front of the room, Hikari walked over to the teacher and handed him her list of students. "Oh, so the new girl didn't show up yet?" he asked Hikari. "No, not yet, Ichiba-Sensei," Hikari said. "Ah, well. Maybe she got lost? New kids tend to do that," the old man said with a shrug and an unconcerned tone of voice as he walked over to his desk.

Hikari then turned to face the rest of the class. "Rise. Bow. Sit," she said firmly, forcing Mari to return to her seat and give the red-head a chance to breathe. "Okay, so... we were supposed to have a new student joining us today, but... apparently she isn't coming," Hikari said. The red-head raised an eyebrow at her curiously.

Asuka frowned and rolled her eyes. "Typical. Americans can't do anything right," she muttered under her breath.

Soon, Hikari saw the girl in the back raise her hand. "Yes, Miss... uh?" Hikari asked as she tried to remember the girl's name.

"Kirishima.  _Mana_  Kirishima" the girl replied, smirking as she said her full name in a manner not unlike a famous movie character.

 _Kirishima? That's supposed to be the name of the American transfer student. Wait a minute... SHE's the American!? No way_ , Hikari thought to herself in confusion. "Y-Yes... Kirishima-san?" Hikari asked.

"I've been here since the doors opened. So, please don't mark me as absent," Mana requested.

"You're... the American transfer student?" Hikari asked her, bewildered by the fact that this American looked 100% Japanese.

"Uh... yeah. Why do you look so confused by that?" Mana asked in response.

Just about everyone in the class was now looking at Mana in shock. Soon, several students started whispering to each other, while Mana noticed one particularly geeky boy with glasses blinking at her in surprise. She quickly focused her attention back on Hikari.

"Did you expect me to be some blonde white chick with big boobs when you heard that the new student was going to be an American?" Mana asked. Several of the boys in the class silently nodded their heads in affirmation.

"N-No. Not at all," Hikari lied. "I... um, anyway, thank you for joining us, Kirishima-san," Hikari said, flustered, before she grabbed a stack of papers from the teacher's desk and started handing them out to her fellow students. When she reached Mana's desk, she frowned.

"Kirishima-san, why didn't you wait and introduce yourself to the class like the others did when  _they_  arrived?" Hikari asked her quietly. Mana tilted her head in confusion.

"Um... I dunno. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. You know? I kind of thought you'd just read out everyone's names from a sheet and I would respond when you called mine out," Mana said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to make a scene," she added.

Hikari nodded her head with a sigh. "All right then. Well, how well can you read Hiragana and Kanji? We do have spare worksheets in English, but they're mostly kept in storage," Hikari said to Mana.

"Well, my father used to teach me Kanji before he died, but after that, my mother just taught me Hiragana," Mana replied. Hikari nodded her head in understanding. "So... I can understand Hiragana, but... I'm going to need some help with the Kanji," Mana added.

"All right. I'll get you a help-sheet for that. When you're given a new laptop for class, you'll also find some Kanji-to-Hiragana guides on the school server as well," Hikari said with a nod.

"Okay. Thank you," Mana replied with a smile before Hikari resumed passing out the sheets to the rest of the class.  _Well... this should be fun_ , Mana thought to herself as she noticed Asuka glancing back at her with a frown. She timidly waved a hand at the other red-head, who curtly nodded her head in acknowledgement before turning around.

* * *

**The Appropriately Nicknamed Eva Pilots' Apartment Complex, Later That Evening...**

Walking up the stairs, Mana sighed as she held one strap of her backpack while holding onto the rail with her other hand. She glanced down at her uniform with contempt. She hated the fact that she had to wear a uniform to school.  _I feel like a fucking robot, looking just like everybody else. Still... I guess it helps me blend in with the crowd_ , Mana thought to herself as she made her way up to the floor where her new apartment was located.

As she continued walking, she started singing to make herself feel better. " _You got the touch! You got the power! Yeah!_ " she sang with each step she took. " _After all is said and done, you never walk, you never run, you're a winner!_ " she continued, a smile growing on her face with each lyric.

" _You got the moves, you know the street! Break the rules, take the heat, you're nobody's fool!_ " Mana sang to herself. " _You're at your best when the going gets rough! You've been put to the test and it's never enough!_ " Mana continued singing with a grin as she continued walking up the stairs.

Upon reaching the landing, Mana noticed Asuka and Toji talking to each other animatedly as Mari opened the door to their apartment. Soon, Asuka noticed Mana out of the corner of her eye. Mana narrowed her eyes at Asuka as she began walking near her. "Guten tag... Sohryu," Mana said in German to the other red-head.

Asuka paused her conversation with Toji to glare at Mana. "Guten tag... schlampe," Asuka spat in return. Mana stopped walking and engaged in a staring contest with Asuka.

"What is your problem with me?" Mana asked the other girl in Japanese, her eyes narrowing at her in contempt.

"I don't need to tell you,  _Mana_ ," Asuka replied tersely.

"Bullshit. You've been avoiding me or sending glares my way ever since you discovered that I'm an American. I want you to stop it. I ain't putting up with that, comprende?" Mana retorted as she stuck a finger in Asuka's face.

"I'm your superior officer, Mana. My rank is Warrant Officer, and last I checked, you were only just promoted to  _Corporal_  a few days ago," Asuka retorted. "You don't get to give me orders," she added with a glare.

"So? I may be your subordinate,  _Warrant Officer_ , but since your behavior problem has taken place away from the base in a civilian location, I'd like an apology right now while we're still off duty. Chain of command has no meaning out this way, so let's hear it," Mana demanded firmly.

Asuka scowled at her in response. "Look, Mana, I don't owe you..."

 _Furthermore, as I am your subordinate, mocking me does nothing to ensure my loyalty to you or my willingness to obey your orders_.

Rei's words came back to Asuka in full swing before she could mouth her retort. "Okay... I'm... s-sorry. As your superior officer, it is my duty to set an example for those under my command. So... do you accept my apology?" Asuka asked Mana.

Mana looked her up and down before sighing through her nose. "Apology... accepted," Mana said skeptically, not entirely convinced of Asuka's change of heart.

"So, Mana, you live here too?" Mari asked nonchalantly as she turned around after opening the door. Mana nodded her head in response.

"Yeah. I was assigned to this building by the Commander. Inspector Kaji and Section Two have been helping me move in," Mana replied.

"Wait... how come we haven't seen you at all until today then?" Mari asked her curiously.

"I've either been unpacking my stuff or I've been at NERV doing sync tests since I've arrived. I haven't had much time to do anything else until today," Mana explained, finally taking her gaze off of Asuka, before focusing her attention on Toji.  _Hm... I wonder how I can get under her skin without raising tensions between us again?_  "So... Suzuhara-san, right?" Mana asked the boy.

Toji nodded his head. "You and Sohryu-san here seem pretty close. You're her boyfriend, I take it?" Mana asked him.

Toji's eyes widened and he stuttered a response. "W-What!? N-No! I-I'm not her b-boyfriend!" he sputtered as a blush rose to his cheeks. Asuka's eyes also widened at Mana's question, a faint blush also rising to her cheeks.

"Ha!" Mari snickered jovially. "Although, with the amount of time you guys spend together, I'm surprised no one's said anything yet or started any rumors. Actually, now that I think about it..." Mari started, causing Asuka to reach out and place a hand against the brunette's mouth.

"No! I'm  _tutoring_  Toji here," Asuka said. "He has trouble with math, so I've been tutoring him for the past few months," she explained hastily. Mana nodded her head.

 _Really? Cause from the way you reacted... eh-heh, I wonder..._  "So... I take it that means you're single, then?" Mana asked as she turned to face Toji, putting on a smile and leaning in towards him, batting her eyelashes cutely at him for effect. Toji blushed and gulped in response and glanced between Mana and Asuka nervously.

"Uh, well-" "He doesn't need a girlfriend right now!" Asuka interjected in a suspiciously fast manner. "With all of the trouble he's having with his studies, the last thing he needs is a girlfriend to throw him off-track!" Asuka added, stepping in between Toji and Mana before shoving a finger into Mana's face.

Mana raised two hands into the air. "Hey, whatever you say, Sohryu," Mana replied with a knowing smirk.  _She totally has the hots for him... or she's in denial. Although... does he have a thing for her too, or is it one sided? Nuh-uh. Look at her! There's no way any boy could spend a few MONTHS being tutored by her and not feel SOMETHING, especially given how chummy they both seemed just before she noticed me_ , Mana thought to herself as she slowly backed away from Asuka and Toji.

"So, Makinami... are  _you_  single?" Mana asked jokingly. Mari smiled seductively at her and licked her lips in response, causing Mana to widen her eyes with a slight blush. "Uh... I was, you know, just joking around when I asked that," Mana said with a nervous chuckle.

"You shouldn't tease me like that," Mari said with a smile. "I might take you...  _seriously_ ," she added, still smiling. Mana couldn't tell if the bespectacled girl was joking or not.  _At least Sohryu is easy to read. Makinami, however... she seems more reserved and... calculating? Maybe I'm just reading too much into things. Then again... maybe not_ , Mana thought to herself as she noticed how Mari's eyes kept watching her as she backpedaled down the hallway.

"Uh... see you guys tomorrow!" Mana called out hesitantly as she made her way down the hall to her apartment. She quickly took out her key and opened the door before closing it shut behind her.

Back at the doorway to the Kaji/Sohryu/Makinami apartment, Mari started to snicker, before she burst out laughing. "Oh, man! Did you see her reaction!?" Mari asked as she held her sides. "Oh, she did  _not_  see that coming!" Mari added before she stepped to the side to let Asuka and Toji step inside the entrance of the apartment.

Taking off their shoes, Toji looked at Asuka curiously. "So... what was  _that_  all about?" Toji asked Asuka.

"Despite knowing Mari as long as I have... there are  _still_  plenty of times when I can't tell if she's being serious about something or just joking around," Asuka admitted as she led Toji through the entrance hall and into the kitchen. "She's kind of scary that way," she added. Toji nodded his head in agreement.

* * *

**The Geofront, Tuesday Morning, April 21, 2043**

Standing out in the open space near a section of pipes burrowed into a cavern wall, Ritsuko Akagi frowned as she noticed the spots of rust along various sections of pipe. Most of the pipes carried water and various gases to and from NERV HQ, along with a handful that were connected to a geothermal power plant several kilometers away from Tokyo-3. However, mere spots of rust were not the reason that Ritsuko had been called out from her lab to walk around the floor of the Geofront.

Standing next to her were several workers and technicians, all of whom had several pieces of monitoring equipment set up near the pipes. Looking at the data on the pad in her hand, Ritsuko scowled before glancing at one of the foremen. "How long has this little problem been going on?" Ritsuko asked the overweight man.

"I was only told about it yesterday. I sent some guys out to do some water testing to be safe, and when they got the results back, I called you. There's some kind of... I dunno, weird acidity to the water in various spots, but it's like it's movin' or somethin'," Foreman Kanzaki explained.

"I mean, acidity doesn't move around through the water like an object. It remains constant until it gets filtered," he added.

"And that's why you called me out here? Because of this?" Ritsuko asked him in annoyance.

"Well, yeah. I mean, you're one of the smartest people workin' here, so why not ask you for help?" the foreman replied.

"Sempai, we've found no traces of the reported acidity," Maya Ibuki called out from a nearby terminal. Ritsuko and the foreman walked over to the younger woman and looked at the screen of her laptop. "There's nothing in the water right now. All of the PH levels are normal," Maya said.

"But my guys found something in the water! I have the tests to prove it!" the foreman exclaimed in frustration. "I can show you when and where they took the tests! They recorded everything!" he added.

"Alright, Maya, when we get back inside, set the MAGI to start scanning the water systems for signs of unusual PH levels," Ritsuko said. "Gentlemen, I'll leave the rest to you," Ritsuko added before walking away. She had some sync tests to observe later in the afternoon, in addition to work regarding the next pilot candidate for Unit 03. While it would be several months until Unit 03 was ready for deployment, possibly even a year, Ritsuko wanted to get a head start on choosing a pilot for the Eva.

* * *

**Inside NERV HQ, Level B-40, Two Hours Later...**

Three NERV technicians walked over to a section of pipes near a storage room. "Okay, so this is where the second filtration monitoring system is located. We just need to turn it on so the MAGI can collect the data, and then we're finished," Technician Agito Kaneko said as he led his two comrades into a storage room.

"What's that smell?" Technician Haruka Ozawa asked as she reached for a light switch. The room's lights slightly blinked on, flickering for a moment. "Oh... mildew," she said as she noticed some wet cardboard boxes underneath a dripping pipe.

Ignoring the stale smell of the room, Agito briskly made his way over to a control box near a pipe, opening the cover and pressing the manual power button to turn it on. During the construction of NERV HQ, several sections of the place were hastily put together following 2nd Impact, and some sections had computer systems that were not directly controlled by the MAGI, meaning that they had to be handled manually in order for the MAGI to access them through the structure's computer network, much like that one really important but annoyingly unreachable printer found in nearly every office building on Earth.

While waiting for the monitoring station to come online, Technician Reiji Wakube noticed something strange on one of the pipes nearby. Walking over to it, he inspected it by leaning forward. There appeared to be an odd viscus substance covering the pipe, along with a small hole. Yet, nothing was coming out of the hole. As he turned around to get his comrades' attention, he noticed something moving in a corner by some equipment racks.

Reiji walked over to the racks, with Haruka noticing him quickly. "What are you looking at?" Haruka asked Reiji.

"I don't know. I thought I saw something," he replied as he walked over to the equipment racks and started walking through them. He scanned the wall for shadows and he turned on his flashlight, just befoer he saw something roll under a rack nearby.

"Okay, monitoring station is up and running," Agito announced. "Come on, guys, let's get outta here," he added as he made his way toward the doorway. He then noticed Reiji crouching by the equipment racks. "Hey, Reiji-san! We're going!" Agito called out as Haruka made her way over to the doorway as well.

"Just a minute," Reiji replied, causing Agito to furrow his brows. "I saw something move over here," Reiji elaborated.

"It's probably just a bug or something. The bug traps down here are probably all expired and need replacing. We'll call pest control to come down later," Agito said, rolling his eyes.

"I don't... I don't think it's a bug," Reiji said as he got down onto his hands and knees to shine his flashlight under the rack. "What the?" he asked before he pulled away from the rack and grabbed a small thin pipe from nearby.

"Reiji, leave it. I don't wanna stay down here any longer," Agito said in annoyance.

"Just let me see what this is real quick," Reiji responded as he slowly inched the pipe forward under the rack. He watched with baited breath as the pipe made contact with the strange lump under the rack, before he pulled it back,noticing how the lump was now stuck to the pipe as he pulled it out and stood up. Holding the pipe up for his co-workers to see as he stepped out from around the equipment racks, Reiji walked over to them.

"See this?" Reiji asked as he held the pipe out in front of them. On the end of it was a strange red blob. Haruka frowned in disgust at it.

"Looks gross. Just put it down and let's go, Reiji-kun," Haruka said.

"Alright, just let me-whoa!" Reiji exclaimed as the blob began moving along the pipe. He tilted the pipe downward, but the red blob continued crawling towards his hand, defying gravity before it lunged forward, latching itself onto Reiji's hand, causing him to drop the pipe onto the floor with a clatter.

Reiji cried out in fear and pain as he felt his hand begin to heat up as the strange substance began covering his hand. "Shit! Help me get it off! Help me-aah!" Reiji cried out as he felt his skin being dissolved. He looked down and watched as the blob began to pulsate.

"Reiji!" Haruka cried out as her friend staggered around the room, smacking his hand against the wall in an effort to remove the blob from his arm. The blob soon began stretching to cover his wrist, and Reiji cried out louder. He ran past Haruka and Agito into the hallway, and they quickly followed after him.

* * *

**Pilot Locker Room, NERV HQ, Hours Later...**

Stepping into the locker room, all of the pilots began to undress, except Shinji as he made his way around the other side of the lockers before he started undressing. In the main area, Mana and Asuka were both undressing next to each other. "So... I haven't really bothered asking until now, but... how many Angels have you killed so far... Warrant Officer Sohryu?" Mana asked Asuka as she pulled down her underwear and took off her bra.

Asuka turned around to answer her, pulling down her bra as well, revealing that both girls had the same bust size. "I've killed two so far. One on my own, and the second as part of the team effort," Asuka replied.

Mana nodded her head in response as she stepped into her yellow and black-striped plug suit. "I've only killed one so far, and that was part of a team effort," she said as she zipped up the suit and activated the cuffs. "So, how many times have you cross-synchronized with another Eva?" Mana asked as Asuka finished getting into her own red plug suit.

"Several dozen," Asuka replied curtly as she pressed the button on her cuff to activate the form-fitting function of the plug suit. "How many have you done?" she then asked Mana in return.

"Only a couple dozen. It's been a while since I've sat in someone else's Eva," Mana replied as she scanned the room, noticing that Rei was already finished while Mari was just finishing up with her new pink plug suit. The bespectacled girl smiled as she cupped her breasts before letting go to watch them bounce.

"Sweet, this suit actually fits my measurements," Mari said with a grin. "Hey, Shinji! Wanna see how my new plug suit fits me!?" Mari asked teasingly. Asuka rolled her eyes at Mari.

"Uh... is that a trick question?" Shinji asked as he stepped around the lockers, already clad in his blue and white plug suit. Rei watched Mari approaching Shinji with a faint look of uncertainty on her face, as though she were unsure of how to feel about what was happening.

"Nope. Just look here!" Mari exclaimed as she grabbed her boobs through the plug suit and jiggled them in front of him. Shinji's eyes widened as he blushed, while Rei subtly frowned as she watched Mari tease the boy. "Beautiful, aren't they?" Mari asked him teasingly.

"Uh... [gulp] Y-Yeah. R-Really... b-beautiful," Shinji stuttered.  _Boobs... boobs... boobs... I wonder if she's unshaven like Rei? Wait, no! Don't have those thoughts in the locker room... at least not while you've got company_ , Shinji thought to himself as he began to feel himself reacting to Mari's teasing.

"Oh-ho!" Mari said as she glanced down with a cheeky smile. "Looks like  _somebody_  likes what he's seeing!" Mari teased as she noticed the tent in Shinji's plug suit. She then looked back up at Shinji's face. "Want some  _help_  with that?" Mari teased him, causing Rei to frown at her in the distance.

"Mari, that's enough!" Asuka snapped at the other girl. "We've got a cross-synchronization test to take! Shinji doesn't need to be distracted, or else Doctor Akagi will have us all stay even longer than necessary to get more readings or whatever she thinks she needs to do," Asuka reprimanded.

"Oh, come on! I'm just having some fun," Mari pouted, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Warrant Officer Sohryu is correct," Rei said as she walked up to Mari, a small frown marring her face. "There is no need to cause all of us to stay here longer than necessary just so that you can... t-tease Corporal Ikari with your body," Rei said, a slightly aggressive tone entering her voice, causing Mari to widen her eyes as she picked it up, before a smirk crossed her face.

"Ikari, go over to the shower and take care of that before the test starts," Mana suddenly spoke up. "Get it out of your system," she added. Everyone looked at her strangely.

"What? Back at Second Branch, if I got aroused when seeing Wagner naked, I would go into the shower and take care of myself before the test started, and he would do the same if he got aroused by me," Mana said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Besides, you two both have a point," she added, pointing at Rei and Asuka, "I don't wanna be stuck here longer than necessary because Doctor Akagi wants to make up for data that got messed up early on due to Shinji having a woody from Mari teasing him," Mana elaborated.

"Or... I could just think of something...  _un-erotic_  and deal with it that way," Shinji suggested.

"Oh yeah? Like  _what?_ " Mana asked him as she put her hands on her hips. "You're surrounded by four attractive girls your age wearing skin-tight material that doesn't even hide their camel toes. What can you possibly think of that might kill your boner right now?" Mana asked him with a skeptical expression on her face.

"Uh... my father?" Shinji replied.

A thoughtful expression soon crossed Mana's face. "Actually... that might just work. Okay, Ikari, picture your father naked," Mana said, prompting Asuka's jaw to drop in disbelief, Rei to raise her eyes subtle bewilderment, and Mari to frown in disgust. Shinji closed his eyes and focused. In seconds, his tent collapsed, just before his eyes shot open and his face blanched as he ran over to the nearest toilet stall, where a wretching sound was soon heard before the toilet was flushed. "Damn, that really  _did_  work," Mana said in astonishment.

Mana then turned to Asuka with a grin. "Hey, Sohryu, picture Commander Ikari-" " _ **NOT**_ _HAPPENING!_ " Asuka snapped before she stormed off. Mana giggled in response to Asuka's reaction. She then looked over at Rei.

" _No_ ," Rei said sharply as she walked past Mana, following Asuka out of the locker room. Mana soon noticed that Mari was still present as Shinji exited the toilet stall and briskly rushed past her to catch up with Rei and Asuka. Mana grinned as she stepped closer to the other girl.

"Hey,  _Makinami_..."

* * *

**Meanwhile, In The Control Room...**

"Uh-huh. Right," Misato said into the phone. "Well, is anyone else available to go find them?" Misato asked. " _Negative. We've already sent down three other people and they haven't come back either. I think we should call security to check this out_ ," Technician Daisuke Matsuoka said over the phone.

"No, I'll go check it out myself," Misato said before hanging up. She then turned to look at 2nd Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga, whose computer was slowly running a maintenance checkup on itself. The man let out a bored sigh. "Hey, Hyuga?" Misato asked him.

"Huh?" Makoto asked in response as he looked over at Misato.

"How long will it take for that to finish?" Misato asked Makoto. He glanced at the computer screen before looking back at Misato.

"Uh, well, I could cancel it now if-" "No, don't do that. Just tell me how long it'll take to finish," she interrupted him.

"Uh... Its got at least another hour to go," Makoto replied as he checked a small timer in the corner of the maintenance program's window.

"Okay, since you'll be free until then, I need you to come with me. There's something I need to check on downstairs," Misato said. Makoto slowly nodded his head and stood up, while 2nd Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba glanced over at him and Misato from his station. Shigeru watched as Misato and Makoto exited the room, before he shrugged his shoulders and went back to fiddling with his guitar as he waited for his own station to finish its maintenance tune-up.

"Hm... where's Inspector Kaji right?" Aoba soon wondered out loud.

* * *

**The Kaji/Sohryu/Makinami Apartment...**

"Ugh..." Kaji said tiredly as he laid in bed, holding a hot/cold pack to her forehead. He soon grabbed a tissue to blow his nose again before he fell back against the bed. "I hate getting sick," he muttered to himself as he deposited the used tissue into a nearby trash can. "I... I feel like shit," he muttered to himself.

* * *

**Back In NERV HQ...**

"So, what exactly are we checking out?" Makoto asked Misato as he followed her down the hallway.

"Six technicians have gone missing downstairs. There have been no alarms sounded, but I'd like to check it out myself. Of course, I don't intend on going down there  _alone_ ," Misato explained as she grabbed her sidearm and checked it before putting it back in its holster. Makoto looked down at his own holstered sidearm, which he had thankfully never had to use since completing NERV's mandatory defense training.

"So... what do you think might've happened?" Makoto asked Misato as they neared an elevator.

"I'm not sure. Like I said, no alarms have been sounded. Hell, maybe they're having an orgy," Misato said with a chuckle as she and Makoto stepped inside the elevator. Makoto rolled his eyes at Misato's joke while she pressed a button to select the floor they were heading to.

"If they are... wanna join 'em?" Misato asked Makoto with a glint in her eyes. Makoto chuckled nervously in response before shaking his head. "Aww, don't be such a spoil sport. Besides, you'd get to see me naked," Misato teased, doing her best to hide her feelings of growing uneasiness regarding the missing technicians.

Makoto blushed at the thought, before letting out a whistle. Seeing Misato naked was something he'd fantasized about on plenty of occasions, but then again, so had most of other males, and some females, at NERV as well. "See? Not such a bad idea after all," Misato teased playfully. "Don't worry, though. I'm just messing with ya. After we find the missing techs, why don't we get a bite to eat at the cafe on level eight? Their coffee might suck, but at least the sandwiches are decent," Misato suggested.

"Yeah. That... that sounds good," Makoto said in agreement as the elevator descended. The duo soon entered an uneasy silence as the lights on the elevator's button panel moved downward. A sense of wrongness and dread began to slowly well up inside of Misato. Makoto simply felt a bit uneasy, but he also was beginning to feel that something was wrong as he and Misato neared their destination.

When the elevator finally stopped, the doors opened to a modestly-lit corridor. Stepping out into the hallway, and seeing the ugly green paint on the walls, Misato led Makoto down the path that the technicians had been deployed to. The hallways were are properly lit, so Misato immediately discounted the idea of the technicians injuring themselves in the dark.

"Okay, there should be a security substation down here somewhere. We can make our way over there and have the security guards check the feed for the missing techs," Misato said as she and Makoto walked down the quiet corridors.

"Shouldn't there be more people walking around this level?" Makoto asked as he looked at the accumulation of dust and cobwebs in certain corners of the corridors. "I mean... I know not a lot of people are stationed on this level, but... it seems a bit too empty," he added uneasily as a pit began to form in his stomach.

"This place needs to be cleaned, that's for sure," Misato quipped as she looked around. She led Makoto through a few more corridors before they reached the security substation. Walking inside without needing to slide her ID card through the reader, Misato paused. "That... shouldn't have been so easy," she noted warily.

She looked around the room, noting that the lights were still turned on, but no one was in the room. She did, however, notice a hat lying on the floor, along with a flashlight and a holstered gun. Stepping closer to the discarded weapon, Misato saw that the holster's straps were still in place. "What the hell?" Misato asked uneasily before she noticed another discarded gun on the floor.

"Makoto... call for security from the upper levels," Misato said with a gulp.

"What's wrong?" Makoto asked, not having noticed the discarded weapons yet.

"Please, just do it. There should be a communication console over there," Misato urged as she soon noticed an ID tag lying on the floor. Makoto nodded his head and made his way over to the nearby phone, picking it up and dialing security. Meanwhile, Misato unholstered her pistol and checked it again before keeping it in one hand.

As Makoto called security, Misato began looking around for more clues as to what had happened. There were discarded weapons on the floor, but there was no blood. There was no sign of a struggle. It was as if the guards had just decided to drop their belongings and leave for no apparent reason. It just didn't make any sense.

It was just... wrong. Something was very wrong here, and Misato felt a chill going down her spine as she walked over to the wall of security monitors, checking for signs of activity in the various corridors on their level. There were a handful of janitorial staff sitting in a small break room near one of the elevators on the other side of the level, but otherwise no one else was there.

"Security says they'll be down here with six guards in just a few minutes," Makoto announced after hanging up the phone. Misato looked over at him and nodded her head in affirmation.

"Good. We'll stay here until they arrive," Misato said before she looked back at the security monitors. For a split second, she thought she saw something moving on one of the monitors.

"Did you see that?" Misato asked Makoto. She pointed at the wall of monitors.

"Huh? See what?" Makoto asked her was he walked up next to her. "What did you see?" he asked he as looked at the screens, seeing nothing unusual.

"On one of the monitors. I thought... I saw something move," Misato said, scanning the other screens for further signs of movement.

"Do you think it was one of the missing technicians?" Makoto asked her.

"I... I don't know," Misato said uneasily.

**A FEW MINUTES LATER...**

"Lieutenant Takashima here, Ma'am," a gruff looking man said as he entered the security substation, holding an MP5 in his hands. Makoto looked at the weapon nervously.

"Uh... you think we're going to need that kind of firepower? We're just looking for some missing people," Makoto said. The rest of the guards were also carrying MP5 submachine guns.

"Security guards don't just drop their weapons and disappear without a trace," Takashima said in response.

"He's right, Hyuga," Misato said in agreement. "There's something going on down here, and we're going to find out what it is," she told Makoto before looking at the guards. "Now keep in mind, a lot of the techs here are civvies. Don't open fire unless someone is actually pointing a gun at you and trying to kill you, understand? We still don't know where everybody's gone to or why they've disappeared in the first place," Misato said.

The eight people quickly split up into teams of two, with Misato sticking with Makoto as they walked through the corridors of the storage level. The halls were eerily quiet as they walked past empty room after empty room, occasionally passing by one of Ritsuko's fabled wine rooms, where the scientist often kept fine wines stored for special occasions, among other projects of hers that no one dared touch without a hazmat suit. "This is real creepy," Makoto whispered to Misato as they turned a corner.

"I know," Misato said in response. Soon, the duo came across an alcove, where something dark caught their attention. "What is that?" Misato asked nervously as Makoto pulled out a small flashlight and shone it on the strange mass, illuminated two boots connected to pants. It was a body.

"Oh no..." Makoto whispered somberly. "We found one of the techs. But it looks like someone killed them," he added in dismay as he looked at the uniformed body slumped against the wall of the alcove, their wrinkled uniform covered in dust and dirt. Their hands were missing, and the body looked as though it had been down there for... quite a long time.

"No, I... I don't think this is one of the missing techs," Misato said as she studied the state of the corpse. Makoto raised an eyebrow at looked at her curiously.

"No?" he asked her as he glanced back at the body. The corpse was definitely wearing the uniform of a NERV technician.

"No," Misato said, shaking her head. "Look at him. See all of the dirt and dust on him? And look at how decayed he is," Misato said grimly. "I don't think this guy was killed by anyone at all. In fact... I think this poor bastard came down here, got lost, went mad, ate his hands, and then died," Misato said. "And not necessarily in that order," she added as an afterthought.

"Wait... how long has he been down here?" Makoto asked her. Misato simply shrugged her shoulders in response. "Right. I guess... we should keep moving," Makoto said uneasily as Misato led the way once more.

**STORAGE ROOM C-03-08...**

Sergeant Kanazawa held her SMG tightly in her hands as she swept the room, looking for signs of a threat and the missing technicians. Behind her, Private Kisaki checked several racks of steel and PVC pipes for signs of the missing technicians. "Private, what's your status?" Kanazawa asked her partner.

"Nothing to report," Kisaki said as he glanced around, until he heard a dripping sound. He looked around in confusion, not seeing any water pipes running through the room, until he saw something dark drip on the floor next to him. "What the..." he trailed off as he looked up at the ceiling.

His eyes widened at the side of the pulsating red blob above him, before it released its hold on the ceiling and dropped down onto him. "Hyaaaa!" Kisaki called out, alerting Kanazawa, who rushed over to him. "K-Kisaki-san!?" she asked in fear and confusion as she saw the red blob covering her fellow guard. He tried pushing his hands out through the mass, but it only stretched like plastic wrap against his struggles.

His voice sounded like a suffocating man as his head became more visible, his skin starting to stretch as Eve pulled herself over him. Kanazawa watched in horror as Kisaki was dissolved in front of her, his screams turning into sicks gasps and gags as his entire body and uniform were dissolved and absorbed by the red blob, his bone structure collapsing and his skin falling inwards before being melted away as his blood mixed with the red of the blob.

Kanazawa raised her gun and fired at the blob, before it shot out a tendril of sorts and wrapped it around the weapon, pulling it from her hands and tossing it away. Kanazawa backed up in fear, before the red blob shot forward, knocking her onto her back as it slowly crawled over her legs. Kanazawa cried out as she felt her uniform dissolving, before the blob's mass made contact with her legs and feet, and she let out a scream of horror and pain as she grabbed her radio and called for help.

A few minutes later, when Lieutenant Takashima arrived with Private Kagayama, Kanazawa was already being absorbed, with only one arm sticking out from the mass. Takashima grabbed her arm and tried to pull the woman out of the red mass, only to watch in horror as the forearm pulled away from the rest of the bicep, spurting blood everywhere as Takashima fell back, dropping the arm as the large red blob pulsated and grew larger.

Private Kagayama raised his MP5 and opened fire at the mass, the bullets spewing forth but doing nothing to harm it. "Lieutenant, let's get out of here!" Kagayama shouted as Takashima pushed himself off of the ground and and retreated, quickly closing the door behind them and locking it.

The sound of footsteps soon reached the two men's ears as they saw Privates Agimoto and Ozawa heading in their direction, followed by Misato and Makoto. "We heard gunfire!" Ozawa exclaimed, glancing between the door and his fellow guards. "Where are Kanazawa and Kisaki?" he asked Takashima.

"They're dead! That...  _thing_  ate them!" Takashima replied fearfully.

"Thing? What thing!?" Misato asked him.

"It... it was... s-some kind of blob! A red blob! It... it just dissolved Kanazawa like a sugar cube in coffee!" Takashima explained.

"I shot at it with my gun, but it didn't do anything to it. The bullets just passed through it," Kagayama said in dismay.

"But we have it trapped in there, right?" Misato asked them. The two men nodded their heads, until the door started to creak and groan, and they saw something thin moving out from under the space between the door and the floor. "Oh shit!" Takashima cried out in fear as he backed away from the red substance creeping out from under the door.

"Run!" Misato cried out as she and Makoto turned tail and ran, while the other guards did the same as the door soon burst open and the red blob spilled out into the hallway. Glancing over her shoulder Misato's eyes widened as she saw the red blob reach out and grab Private Agimoto with a red tendril and pull him into itself, his terrified screams echoing in the hallways through her ears. "Don't stop running!" Misato cried out to Makoto as they ran side by side.

Glancing back over his shoulder, Makoto saw the other guards open fire at the creature, only for an orange hexagonal field to protect it this time. "It's an Angel!?" Makoto blurted out in surprise. As the guards retreated behind a corner, the red Angel began moving in the direction where it had heard Makoto's voice.

"It's a  _what!?_ " Misato asked Makoto incredulously.

"An Angel! It has an A.T. Field!" Makoto explained hastily as he and Misato ran through the corridors.

The duo quickly turned a corner, hearing the strange wet sound of the blob moving behind them. Makoto glanced over his shoulder again to see the reb mass hurdling towards them. "Oh shit!" Makoto exclaimed as he and Misato kept running, turning another corner. A janitor up ahead saw them and tilted his head in confusion.

"Hey, what's going-holy crap!" he exclaimed as he saw the red mass behind them. He quickly turned around and ran away, closing a modular door behind him and sealing the corridor off from the monstrosity. Misato reached the door and pounded her fists on it.

"No! Open up! Let us through!" she cried out, before Makoto grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the door. The duo quickly ran in the other direction, turning a corner just as Eva reached the junction in the hallway behind them.

"Come on! We gotta keep moving!" Makoto exclaimed as he and Misato whizzed by the Angel, dodging a red tendril as it tried to grab them. The Angel quickly retracted the tendril and simply began hurdling itself down the corridor in pursuit of its prey.

Passing by a sign on the wall, the duo kept running, occasionally glancing back over their shoulders at their red pursuer. They soon turned another corner, near another storage area, this one lined with supplies for the various food courts inside NERV HQ. "Up ahead, there's a freezer! The door will seal itself completely!" Makoto exclaimed as he and Misato ran for their lives.

Upon reaching the door, Misato entered an access code and the door slid open, letting the two of them inside. Makoto slipped on the floor of the freezer and tumbled forward, smacking into a rack of frozen desserts and boxes of meat. Behind him, Misato hit the button to close the door, just as a red tendril shot forward, causing her to back up with a frightened shriek.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Misato swore as the tendril swiped at her, missing by centimeters as she slipped and fell back onto the floor. Pushing herself back from the red tendril, Misato scooted over to Makoto as she watched the red mass slowly enter the freezer, pushing itself against the sliding door as it tried to close itself. Misato gulped as the Angel prevented the door from closing all the way.

Grabbing Makoto's right hand, Misato squeezed it tightly as she held out her pistol with her other hand, before she remembered that the Angel had an A.T. Field, and so the bullets would be ineffective against it.  _This is it_ , Misato thought fearfully. She glanced over at Makoto as he watched the Angel try to squeeze through the door, fear written all over his face.

"M-Misato, I just want you to know... if we don't make it, it's been an honor to know you," Makoto said with a gulp. Misato nodded her head as she inhaled with shaky breath, squeezing Makoto's hand tighter in her own. "S-Same here," she replied shakily with a grimace as she watched the Angel try to force its way into the freezer.

Sending out a tendril, the red mass touched the cold floor and immediately retreated as small pieces of itself fell out of the tendril, crystallizing on the floor. Misato and Makoto both watched in fear and amazement as the red blob retreated from them and allowed the door to seal itself properly. The duo sat there in confusion for a minute, before Misato slowly let go of Makoto's hand and pushed herself up off the floor, re-holstering her gun in the process.

Slowly stepping forward, Misato glanced down at the crystallized pieces of the Angel on the floor, before looking back over at Makoto. "Did... you saw that, right?" she asked him. Makoto nodded his head in affirmation.

"It... it's affected by the cold," Makoto said.

"Yeah, it is. Look at these," Misato said as she crouched down and pointed at the crystalized pieces of the Angel. "They're frozen solid," she said in amazement. "Now if only we could find a way to trap it in a freezer," she added.

"Actually, maybe we should find a way to get out of here first. That thing may not like the cold, but we aren't exactly dressed for it either," Makoto said with a gulp as he stood up and crossed his arms to try warming himself up. "Oh, here! Take this," Misato said as she took off her jacket and handed it to Makoto, revealing her black outfit underneath.

"Actually, I think you need it more than I do," Makoto said as he pointed down to Misato's bare legs. Misato looked down and then glanced back at Makoto's face with a slow nod of understanding as she put the jacket back on.

"So, do you think it's waiting for us to open the door?" Misato asked as she walked over to the door and prepared to open it.

"I hope not," Makoto replied. Misato nodded her head in agreement before reaching forward to press the button to open the door from the inside. She and Makoto both gulped in anticipation as she stepped back and waited for the door to open.

When it finally slid all the way open, the duo saw that the hallway was clear. Slowly tentatively, Misato and Makoto stepped out into the hallway, checking for signs of the red Angel. "I don't see it anywhere," Misato said quietly.

"How far is the nearest elevator?" Makoto asked her.

"Um... Not too far. I mean, the people up at the cafes and food courts need to be able to grab stuff quickly, right? So the nearest elevator shouldn't be too far from here," Misato replied as she and Makoto closed the freezer door behind them and slowly crept through the corridor, passing doors to other freezers and coolers along the way.

* * *

**Observation Laboratory B09-004...**

Ritsuko looked down at the data in front of her. "Okay... Shinji seems to synchronize rather well with Unit Four-Beta," Ritsuko noted before she moved on to check the others. "Hm... Sohryu does okay in Unit One," she noted before checking on Unit 00. "No success with Kirishima in Unit Zero? That's not entirely unexpected," Ritsuko said as she looked over at 1st Lieutenant Maya Ibuki.

"Yeah, but we'd have hoped that it would start playing nicely with others by now," Maya responded. "I mean, it  _did_  let Shinji pass the borderline during the last cross-synchronization test," she added. Ritsuko nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, but only by a single percentage point," Ritsuko added before she looked at Unit 05. "Rei seems to be doing okay in Unit Five, all things considered. Then again, Unit Five  _is_  a production model, so it's not as finicky as Unit Zero," she added before checking on Unit 02. "Makinami doesn't seem to have any trouble synchronizing with Unit Two. I should have put her in Unit Zero or Unit One instead," she said to herself as she remembered that Mari had synchronized with Unit 02 plenty of times prior to being transferred to Japan alongside Asuka.

"So, should we have them switch later, or should we-" Maya was interrupted when the Angel Alarm went off.

" _ **ATTENTION! BLUE PATTERN DETECTED! ATTENTION! BLUE PATTERN DETECTED!**_ " the automated voice blared over the intercom.

"Oh shit! We have to get the pilots back into their proper Evas!" Maya cried out, just before the door to the lab slid open and Misato and Makoto rushed in.

"Misato! What are you doing in here!? There's an Angel Alert!" Ritsuko cried out.

"I know! But it's not one the Evas can fight!" Misato exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Ritsuko asked her in confusion.

"It's inside the base! It's down on Level B-Forty!" Makoto blurted out.

"It's  _where!?_ " Ritsuko gasped in shock.

"It's... inside the base," Makoto said as he caught his breath. "It's this big red blob, and it just keeps getting bigger as it eats everything in sight!" he added. Ritsuko and Maya both looked at him in bewilderment.

" _Hey! What's going on out there!?_ " Mana's voice could be heard over the com system. " _There's an alarm going off! Why aren't we being sortied?_ " she asked.

Misato rushed over to the com station. "Kirishima-san, this Angel is inside NERV HQ itself. You can't fight it in the Evas," Misato relayed.

" _What!? How the hell did it get inside the base!?_ " Asuka asked over the com.

"We don't know!" Misato replied.

" _ **Major Katsuragi, please report to the bridge immediately**_ ," the voice of Gendo Ikari boomed over the intercom. Misato quickly took off the headset and rushed over to the intercom panel nearby. "Negative, Commander! The Angel is  _inside_ NERV HQ. It's currently stuck on level B-Forty, but if we don't do something soon, it'll find a way up here!" Misato exclaimed over the phone.

" _ **All personnel, please stay clear of level B-Forty. We have a containment breach on level B-Forty. Again, please remain clear of Level B-Forty until further notice**_ ," Gendo said over the intercom.

"Thank you, sir," Misato said over the phone.

" _Major, I expect you to find a way to neutralize this threat before it can reach Terminal Dogma. If you cannot do so in the next twelve hours, we may be forced to evacuate the facility and activate the Armageddon Protocol_ ," Gendo replied over the phone. Misato knew what that meant: the complete destruction of NERV HQ and possibly even Tokyo-3, to prevent any Angel from making contact with Lilith. It was a Scorched Earth policy, and one that was to be used only as an absolute last resort.

"I understand, sir. I'm with Ritsuko right now. We'll think of something," Misato said into the phone. " _I hope so, Major. Do not disappoint me_ ," Gendo said before hanging up. She then turned to look at her companions. "We have twelve hours to cook up a plan or else the Commander will initiate the Armageddon Protocol," Misato relayed.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. "So, what can we do? I mean, we've seen this thing's A.T. Field in action," Makoto said in response.

"Yes, but we also know something that even its A.T. Field apparently can't counteract," Misato said with a grin.

Makoto's eyes widened in realization. "The cold!" he exclaimed as he remembered what had happened to the Angel back in the freezer.

" _Hey, what's going on out there!? Someone answer me!_ " Asuka shouted over the com. Everyone ignored her.

Ritsuko shook her head. "Okay, both of you slow down," she said. "Let's start over, okay? Tell me everything from the beginning," Ritsuko demanded.

" _Is anyone gonna tell us anything? Hello!?_ " Mana asked over the com. She was ignored as well.

Makoto and Misato both took turns informing Ristuko and Maya of what they had witnessed. By the end, Maya was thoroughly horrified, and Ritsuko was bewildered, but also contemplative. "I see... yes, cold temperatures would make sense for something so amorphous," Ritsuko muttered.

" _Um... should we stay in our Evas? Is it okay for us to leave? Hello!?_ " Shinji called out over the com. Everyone ignored him too.

"But we don't know where its core is located," Misato said. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow.

"Actually... from what you've described, it's possible that the Angel's  _entire_   _body_  is its core," Ritsuko surmised. Misato and Hyuga both looked at her incredulously.

"Say what now?" Misato asked Ritsuko.

"Yeah, that doesn't make any sense," Makoto added.

"Hyuga,  _nothing_  about the Angels normally makes any sense," Ritsuko countered. "However, this does mean we know how to beat it. What we need to do is freeze the organism in its entirety, and then destroy the solidified object as quickly as possible," Ritsuko said.

"Okay, but how do we  _do that?_ " Makoto asked her. Ritsuko placed a hand under her chin as she entered a state of deep thought while pacing around the room.

"Hm... ah-ha!" Ritsuko announced. "I've got it!" she stated as she turned to look at everyone.

"Okay, what've you got?" Misato asked her.

"Liquid nitrogen!" Ritsuko said. Everyone looked at her curiously. "Liquid nitrogen! It'll be fast-acting, so we won't need to worry about the Angel getting away as long as we hit enough of it at once," Ritsuko explained.

" _Can anyone hear us!? Hello! Is anyone paying attention to us!?_ " Mari called out over the com.

"Alright, but... how do we hit it with liquid nitrogen without freezing  _ourselves?_ " Misato asked Ritsuko, ignoring the pilots' shouts over the com system.

"Oh, I know!" Maya exclaimed, causing everyone to look in her direction. "We'll make some liquid nitrogen guns! We'll hook up some specialized hoses to portable canisters of liquid nitrogen and take care of the Angel that way!" Maya elaborated.

"Okay, and do we have the supplies for those up here?" Misato asked the younger woman.

"Maybe for one or two, but to make more, we'd need to go down to... level... B-F-Forty," Maya said as realization dawned on her. "Oh...  _shit_ ," she swore, startling everyone. No one had ever truly heard Maya swear before now, not even Ritsuko.

"Well... as long as we can make  _one_  liquid nitrogen gun, we have a chance. Let's get started, and then we can use that gun to protect ourselves while heading down to the supplies for more of them," Ritsuko finally said.

" _Is anybody listening to us!? Is anyone there!? Will someone fucking answer me!?_ " Asuka shouted over the com, prompting Misato to finally stomp over to the com panel. "Yes, we can hear you! Now shut up and stay in your entry plugs until further notice!" Misato snapped.

"Okay, how long will it take to make the first liquid nitrogen gun?" Misato asked as she turned around.

"Um, maybe an hour?" Maya responded. "First, we need to get to a workshop. We should have some supplies in one of the other labs on this level, so let's get moving," Maya said as she took the lead. Everyone followed her out of the lab and into the hallway.

" _We're gonna be stuck in here all night, aren't we?_ " Shinji asked over the com.

* * *

**Montage of Liquid Nitrogen Gun (LNG) Being Built**

Makoto, Misato, Maya, and Ritsuko all enter a storage room and begin grabbing the parts listed by Maya, who drags Ritsuko over to a room fill with large container of liquid nitrogen, grabbing some safety gloves and goggles as the duo carefully load the canisters onto some carts.

Various security guards keep their eyes on the openings of air vents and the lights above elevator doors, gripping their guns fearfully.

Entering a workshop, Makoto, Maya, Misato, and Ritsuko begin setting various parts onto some tables as Maya oversees the construction of the two weapons.

Gendo and Fuyutsuki sit in the control room, both of them glancing around at the various technicians working at their stations, before the notice Shigeru Aoba looking up security footage on his terminal.

Misato helps Makoto attach a hose to a pipe with a metal ring.

The five Eva pilots sit in their entry plugs with worried expressions on their faces. Even Rei wears an expression of unease as she anxiously awaits any information from the outside world regarding the newest Angel.

Maya and Ritsuko adjust some nobs on the liquid nitrogen canisters as they prepare to attach a harness to one of them.

Makoto tightens a wrench around a nozzle before Misato takes the wrench and slams it onto a bug crawling on a table nearby.

On level B-40, Eve slowly moves around through a corridor, searching for more prey.

Maya and Ritsuko adjust a trigger mechanism on the first LNG before they hook it up.

Inside the Eva hangars, Mana ejects the entry plug of Unit 00 before climbing out, with Asuka doing the same with Unit 01. The other pilots remain in their entry plugs.

Sweat pours down Misato's face as she tightens a bolt on the hose attachment to one of the guns.

Makoto glances up at a clock nervously as he adjusts his glasses.

Maya adjusts the straps on the harnesses for the weapons before smiling in satisfaction.

Finally, the two Liquid Nitrogen Guns (LNGs) are finished, with Misato and Maya both wearing the harnesses holding the canisters against their backs. The guns are in their gloved hands, with long hoses and nozzles and proper triggers with trigger guards. Maya and Misato glance at each other with grins plastered on their faces.

**End of Montage**

* * *

"Okay, let's go put this thing on ice," Misato said with a grin, causing Makoto to roll his eyes and groan at her lame pun. "What?" she asked him defensively. Makoto just shook his head in response.

"So, what exactly is our plan here?" Ritsuko asked as she took a drag from a cigarette she had mysteriously procured at some point.

"Well, we're gonna find the Angel and freeze its ass. Then, we're gonna... um, we'll... oh dear," Misato said with a groan. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Even if we freeze it, how can we destroy it without spreading it everywhere?" Misato asked as panic began to set in.

"Well, we can transport its frozen body to a secure location and figure out what to do from there," Maya suggested.

"Um, how do you intend to transport its body? This thing is pretty big, and with how many people its eaten, I don't think it's going to fit in one room, even when frozen," Makoto pointed out to them. Misato and Maya both sighed in frustration.

"Well, we'll need to lead to to some place that's both large and mostly unpopulated, or least rarely visited by anyone other than maintenance personnel," Ritsuko said thoughtfully.

"Uh, the Eva hangars are hardly ever used," Makoto pointed out.

"Makoto!" Misato said, aghast. Ritsuko and Maya both noticed Misato's use of Hyuga's first name, but paid it no mind given their current situation. "We can't do that! That'll put the pilots in danger!" Misato continued.

"Actually, Misato, he may be onto something," Ritsuko said thoughtfully. Everyone blinked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Maya asked Ritsuko curiously.

"Well, since this  _is_  an Angel we're going up against, it'll have an A.T. Field, right?" Ritsuko asked as she glanced between her co-workers. Misato and Makoto both nodded their heads.

"Yeah. It started using it after getting shot. That means it learns pretty quickly, I guess," Makoto said, nodding his head.

"Right. Therefore, to increase our chances of success, we need to have its A.T. Field properly neutralized, or else it might find a way to block the effects of the liquid nitrogen before we can fully freeze it," Ritsuko said. " _Therefore_... we should lead it to the Eva hangars, where even  _one_  Evangelion activating its A.T. Field should be enough to neutralize the opposing field of the Angel," she concluded.

"But what about the pilots!?" Misato cried out in concern.

"As long as they remain in their Evas, they should be fine," Ritsuko said confidently.

"Um, how do we lead it there without it attacking anyone else?" Makoto asked.

"We'll seal off the doors and hallways so that only one path remains from floor B-Forty to the Eva cages," Ritsuko said. She quickly took out her cell phone and called Commander Ikari, causing everyone else to adopt a puzzled expression.

"Wait... she has the Commander's cell phone number... on her own cell phone?" Makoto asked Misato quietly. Misato simply shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, I guess she probably works as his physician at times, but... why doesn't she just use one of the com stations?" Makoto asked, just as Ritsuko hung up her phone.

"All right, we have the Commander's cooperation," Ritsuko said as she stuffed her phone into her pocket. "But... there is still one problem that remains," Ritsuko added.

"And what's that?" Maya asked her.

"We have to lure the Angel to the hangars. We don't know how long it will take for it to..." Ritsuko trailed off as she saw something red dripping out of a pipe nearby. She raised an arm and pointed at the slowly forming blob on the floor nearby, causing the others to turn to look at it with fear in their eyes.

"It... it... it pushed itself through the pipes!?" Maya asked incredulously.

"Let's just hope that it can't split itself into multiple copies like the Seventh!" Misato quipped as she took a step back and aimed the LNG at the slowly forming blob on the floor.

"No! Don't shoot at it in here! We need to lure it to the Eva hangar!" Ritsuko exclaimed.

"Right!" Misato replied as she and the others backed away from the red Angel blob as it grew in size. Eventually, the entire creature had exited the pipes, filling up a large portion of the room before the four NERV personnel retreated. The Angel took the bait and followed them out of the room, pursuing them through the corridors.

"Is it following us!?" Maya asked as she ran alongside Ritsuko. Makoto glanced back over his shoulder, only to see a wall of red chasing them.

"Yes! Yes, it's fucking following us!" Makoto exclaimed in terror as he picked up his pace. The sound of boots and shoes hitting the floor echoed through the corridors as the four of them fled from the red blob. The sounds of panting could also be heard every few seconds as the group ran for their lives.

As Eve started to gain on them, the four soon turned a corner, momentarily gaining distance before Eve followed them yet again. Eve slid across the floor, ceiling, and walls with horrifying grace, like a demonic wave of gelatin. "Oh hell, it's catching up to us!" Ritsuko cried out as she glanced over her shoulder.

"How much further to the cages!?" Makoto asked as he felt his leg muscles burning.

"Not much! There! Just up ahead!" Maya called out as she saw the signs on the wall for the Eva cages.

As soon as they reached the open door, the foursome made a sharp turn and entered the hangar, running across the platform to the other side. Ritsuko and Makoto stood behind Misato and Maya as they turned around and aimed their LNGs at the doorway, waiting for the red Angel to arrive. Looking up at Unit 00, Ritsuko soon saw that the entry plug was in an ejected position, with the hatch opened.

"What the!? Where's Kirishima!?" she asked as she looked around, before glancing up at the control booth window to see two recently-showered and dressed red-headed pilots talking to one another behind the safety glass window. She glanced over at the other Evas in the hangar, seeing past them thanks to the retracted divider wall. Unit 01 was also in the same state.

"Those stupid! Dammit! We need to make our way further down!" Ritsuko called out, before taking out her cell phone and dialing the extension to the com station in the observation lab.

Up in the first room, Asuka heard the phone on the wall ringing, before she glanced out the window to see the four adults running for their lives as a red blob began to push its way through a door to the hangar. She raced over to the com panel and picked up the phone. "Hey, what the hell's going on!?" Asuka asked into the phone.

" _What are you doing out of your Evas!?_ " Ritsuko's angry voice asked over the phone. "Um... we didn't want to spend the night in there? Look, just tell me what you need me to do," Asuka replied over the phone.

" _Call up the other Evas on the com station and tell them to deploy their A.T. Fields now! I'll explain later!_ " Ritsuko replied sharply. Asuka nodded her head and held the phone to her shoulder before glancing at Mana.

"Corporal, call up the others on the com and tell them to deploy their A.T. Fields on the double! Doctor's orders!" Asukaa called out to Mana, who widened her eyes before rushing over to the com station.

"Shinji, Rei, Mari! You guys need to deploy your A.T. Fields ASAP!" Mana barked over the com.

" _But why? I thought Misato said we wouldn't be able to-_ " "Just do it!" Mana interrupted him.

" _Affirmative_ ," Shinji replied, still somewhat perplexed, at least until he used his Eva's sensor system to see the four adults running from the red blob on the walkways. " _Deploying A.T. Field now!_ " Shinji announced, causing Unit 04-B's A.T. Field to manifest itself with a blur in the air.

" _Enemy A.T. Field neutralized_ ," Shinji reported over the com. "Good! Stand by for additional orders!" Mana responded before glancing over at Asuka and nodding her head.

"Doctor, Eva Unit Four-Beta has deployed its A.T. Field," Asuka reported. " _Good! Misato, Maya, get those guns ready!_ " Ritsuko shouted over the phone.

Back down on the walkways, the four adults continued running until Ritsuko tripped, her heels finally giving up. "Sempai!" Maya called out before rushing back to cover Ritsuko. Maya stood in front of the older woman with her LNG aimed at the Angel, finger on the trigger.

"Get away from us, you  _bitch!_ " Maya spat as she sent a stream of liquid nitrogen directly at the red blob. Misato soon joined her and sent another stream of the stuff at the Angel, hitting the bottom of it first to impede its movement. The Angel recoiled as it felt itself slowly being frozen, its outer layer solidifying first. It tried to lash out with a tendril, but Misato froze it with her LNG before focusing on more of the creature's mass.

The Angel flailed about with ever shrinking tendrils as it was slowly solidified by the coverage of liquid nitrogen. It tried to shift itself backwards, but it was too stiff. Its body was becoming too round and hard for it too move properly. Soon, the Angel was a hard sphere on the walkway, its color turning to pink from the liquid nitrogen as it sat frozen in the shadow of Evangelion Unit 01.

"Hey... we did it!" Maya exclaimed joyously. "We did it! We did it!" she shouted triumphantly as she clutched her LNG in both hands.

"Yes!" Ritsuko cried out as Makoto helped her to stand up. She then held her phone up to her mouth to speak, before Mana's voice interrupted her.

" _Doc? Um, I'm not too much of a scientist, but there's some weird activity in Unit One. I know there isn't anyone inside of it, but... you may want to back up from it_ ," Mana said over the phone.

"What do you mean? What kind of act-" Ritsuko was interrupted by Unit 01 raising an arm and opening its mouth, letting out a breath that threatened to blow everybody down to the floor.

The giant cyborg's hand soon rose and fell upon the large pink ball on the walkway, beore lifting it up and placing it in the cyborg's mouth. "W-What the!? What's it doing!?" Misato asked in disbelief and bewilderment as she and the others watched Unit 01 close its mouth, smashing the frozen Angel before grinding it up with its giant molars and teeth as it chewed.

Unit 01 then swallowed and ran her tongue over her teeth to gather any remnants of the former Angel before she returned her arm and hand to their usual position. Letting out a small sigh of satisfaction, Unit 01 nodded her head slowly. She then glanced down at the four people on the walkway with a strange look in her eyes, before she returned to her passive state of inactivity.

Everyone was silent for a minute as they processed what they had just witnessed. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Misato broke the silence caused by this most unusual event with what was perhaps the most normal response possible. "What the hell just happened?"

* * *

**ENDING THEME: Everything You've Ever Dreamed, by ARIANNE**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT TIME**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Toji receives some shocking news, just as Tokyo-3 and the rest of the Geofront are plunged into a blackout. To make things worse, the Angel Matarael arrives the same day as the blackout, meaning that it's a race against time to get the Evas up and running before the Angel can break through the city's defenses. But what if NERV can't restore power  _or_  launch the Evas in time?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: And that was episode eleven! Wow, that was quite a... weird one, wasn't it? So, yeah, this episode is a combination of ALIEN (1979), The Blob (1988 Remake), and that episode of NGE where Iruel took over the base's computers. Of course, I have replaced Iruel with Eve in this instance.
> 
> As you can probably tell in this episode's beginning segment, Asuka is being paired with Toji for this story, while Shinji and Rei are still developing their relationship. Also, Makoto and Misato are getting closer, albeit much more slowly than the pilots.
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed reading this episode.
> 
> As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of the episode and/or story so far in your reviews.


	12. A Stopped Clock

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

In this episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, the Angel Matarael attacks Tokyo-3, just as the power goes out mysteriously. This episode will play out... a third of the way the original did, mostly with the blackout and Matarael's appearance. The rest of the episode... well, I guess you'll see.

As in the previous episode, Mana and Asuka have developed a tumultuous relationship outside of their piloting duties, as Mana and Asuka are both leaders in their own right, and that causes them to come into conflict with one another. This episode will further explore that as the tensions grow between them, while Asuka begins learning to deal with... another relationship of hers that has developed more than she expected.

 **DISCLAIMER** : I do not condone the cool crime of breaking and entering.

As with all works, I listened to music while writing this. Music I listened to while writing include  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Smyphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu & Yoichi Murata & Masamichi Amano,  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Dragon's Heaven_  (1988) by Takanobu Masuda & Yasunori Iwasaki & Keiji Katayama & Takashi Masuzaki, and  _Shiro SAGISU Music From Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone_  (2007) by Shiro Sagisu.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998):  _E-5 Rhythm Only_ ,  _B-14 The Day Toyko-3 Stood Still_ ,  _A-16 Theme of NERV Macaroni Western Style_ ,

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _F02 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

Music From  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _Ritsuko_ ,  _Misato_ ,  _Barefoot In The Park_ ,  _Hostility Restrained_ ,  _Theme of NERV_ ,  _Background Music II_  (Theme of NERV Macaroni Western Style),  _In The Depths Of Human Hearts_ ,  _Hedgehog's Dilemma_ (Sagisu would rework this as  _Cruel Dilemme_  in Rebuild 1.0 and later again as the Main Theme of Rebuild 3.0).

Music From  _Dragon's Heaven_  (1988):  _Twilight Of Kerutoria_ ,  _Ikuuru and Shaian_ ,  _Orion's March_.

Music From  _Rebuild 1.0_  (2007):  _Cruel Dilemme_ ,  _Cruel Dilemme II_ ,  _Rei Opus IV_ ,  _Rei Opus V_ ,  _Cruel Dilemme III_ ,  _Cruel Dilemme IV_ ,  _Trailer Eva Special._

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Hostility Restrained_  (Gendo and Fuyutsuki talk),  **02**.  _Misato_  (House-warming party),  **03**.  _Cruel Dilemme_  (Toji's phone call & discussion with Asuka),  **04**.  _Twilight Of Kerutoria_  (Matarael appears/Blackout),  **05**.  _The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still_ (Matarael advances),  **06**.  _A-16 Theme of NERV Macaroni Western Style_  (Matarael vs. JSSDF Robot),  **07**.  _Cruel Dilemme IV_  (Power restored/Aftermath).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**08**.  _F02 -_ _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 12: A Stopped Clock...**

* * *

**Gendo Ikari's Office, NERV HQ, Saturday, April 25, 2043**

Standing in front of her boss/lover, Ritsuko Akagi looked at the tablet in her hands with a sigh as she began relaying the information on it to Gendo and Fuyutsuki. "According to what little data we were able to obtain from the samples collected in the freezer, the Angel was still growing and thus not complete by the time of its... demise," Ritsuko said, remembering the sight of Unit 01 eating the frozen Angel as though it were a piece of candy. "That does not mean, however, that it did not posses the usual assortment of internal components found in other Angels," Ritsuko added quickly.

"Due to the nature of its demise, we are unable to retrieve anything for study aside from the small pieces left behind earlier. And those... show that the material of the Angel's body was indeed the same as that of the cores found in previously encountered Angels. It was amorphous, though, which, when coupled with an A.T. Field, made it nigh impossible to kill without destroying the entire body. And  _that_  meant that a proper analysis was impossible as well," Ritsuko added with a sigh before she took a seat in front of Gendo's desk.

"Doctor Akagi, should we take this to mean that Evangelion Unit One may now be in possession of its own S-Two organ?" Fuyutsuki asked cautiously.

"I don't know. We've never encountered an Angel quite like this one," Ritsuko replied. "So far, we haven't seen anything unusual taking place inside Unit One as of yet, but it's only been a few days. Given how the Angel grew by consuming other organic matter, most notably human beings, it's possible that if it  _did_  in fact have an S-Two organ, it probably wouldn't be fully developed, but we can't say for certain because, again, we could only confirm that the Angel grew in  _size_  as it consumed its food. We don't know if all of its parts were fully developed and simply small in relation to its body mass, or if they were undeveloped as well," Ritsuko added.

"So, is there a chance that Unit One may possess an S-Two organ? Sure, but given how little we knew about the Angel before it was consumed, there's no way for even the  _MAGI_  to properly calculate that probability without resurrecting it in a controlled environment and feeding it," Ritsuko said with a frustrated sigh.

Gendo appeared to frown at this information. "In that case... monitor Unit One daily. Regardless of the scheduled sync tests, have the MAGI run a series of diagnostics on the Eva every eight hours for the next few months. During tests involving new equipment out on the training fields or in the labs... see how long it can last without a power cable or external battery system attached to it. Find out if the time limit changes in any capacity," Gendo ordered.

Ritsuko nodded her head. "That  _would_  tell us if the Eva is developing its own S-Two organ after consuming the Angel," Ritsuko said in agreement. "All right, consider it done," she said with a sharp nod of her head.

"Good. Now, there is one other matter that needs to be attended, Doctor," Gendo said. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at him. "You still need to go over the list of pilot candidates for Unit Three. I want at least three top candidates chosen by next Friday, and the final selection the following week," Gendo said firmly.

"Right. Sorry, I'd forgotten about that in all of the... well, chaos that's been eating up everyone's schedules. What with the funerals of those guards and technicians still being planned by Human Resources, and... I'll get started as soon as I have the MAGI set up to perform their new monitoring task," Ritsuko said as she stood up.

"Ritsuko... don't push yourself too hard. If you slip up due to exhaustion, it could cost all of us in the long run," Fuyutsuki said softly. Ritsuko nodded her head at the man in gratitude.

"Don't worry. I'll pace myself," Ritsuko said before she turned around and walked away.

After the faux blonde had left the room, Fuyutsuki turned to look at Gendo. "So, what do you think the Committee will do when they hear about this?" he asked Gendo. Gendo said nothing as he merely folded his hands in front of himself in the usual manner.

"You know they'll find out somehow. When they learn of Unit One taking action completely on its own, just like it did against Sachiel, I have no doubt that they'll raise a fuss over this not being in line with the Dead Sea Scrolls," Fuyutsuki continued. Gendo nodded his head in agreement.

"The old men are dogmatic fools," Gendo finally said. "They wish for immortality through any means necessary, and they will stop at nothing to achieve that goal. I want security increased around the Evas, especially Units One and Four-Beta. If SEELE really does get riled by this news, they may attempt to sabotage one of the units so that things fall back in line with their interpretations of the scrolls," Gendo said.

"There's... another matter that we need to discuss, both among ourselves and with the Committee, Ikari," Fuyutsuki said. Gendo raised an eyebrow at Fuyutsuki, but otherwise remained silent. Only a slight gesture of his shoulder indicated that he wished for the older man to continue.

"The United Nations has set aside more funding for the Defense Force's newest project," Fuyutsuki relayed. Gendo nodded his head. He'd read the reports, but had considered the information rather fruitless.

"It has been several months since the Seventh Angel attacked us, Professor. If the Defense Force were truly serious about their own robot, they would have made an announcement by now," Gendo said.

"That's just it, Ikari. We both know that SEELE controls the U.N., so this allocation of funding must have been approved by them. While it's quite likely that they're simply doing it to light a fire under our asses, I still think we should take this seriously. If the Defense Force's project is able to successfully defeat an Angel, SEELE may begin viewing us as expendable," Fuyutsuki said worriedly.

"They may even begin pitting us against the JSSDF at some point down the road, just to see who can serve them better," the old man added.

"No. They'll simply watch as the Defense Force's machine is destroyed in its first fight. They will play rough and pretend that they're favoring the JSSDF, but we both know that it's simply an intimidation tactic. I know how Yui's father operates, and I have no doubt that he was involved in this decision," Gendo said with a smirk.

"So, let them show off their robot. Besides, I'm certain that any victory it achieves is not predicted by the scrolls, and therefore SEELE would find themselves in quite the predicament if this works, because their own hypocrisy would be on full display," Gendo sneered. "I am actually looking forward to it, now that you've got me thinking about it. Have Inspector Kaji do some... digging, so to speak, with his friends in the Defense Force, regarding their newest toy," Gendo added.

"Of course. But, Ikari, if Unit One does develop its own S-Two organ as a result of consuming the previous Angel... what should we do?" Fuyutsuki asked him.

"We claim it to be an unexpected development, monitor it 'officially' after it's been revealed to SEELE, and utilize it in the field when necessary. We still have Unit Four-Beta to work with, and Unit Four-Alpha back in the States. When you can... see if Inspector Kaji can contact Colonel Barnes and inform him of this development," Gendo said.

"Are you sure? Barnes has made it clear that he intends to fight against SEELE out in the open when they make their final play against us. He doesn't know about your scenario," Fuyutsuki said.

"No, he does not. I've allowed him to believe that I share his goal, and while I technically do intend to go against SEELE, it is not in the same manner that he plans to go about it," Gendo replied.

"How long will it be until Corporal Kirishima starts acting on his orders then? We both know that he's given her secret orders of some kind. Just a few days before the Angel attacked, Kirishima was seen on the security monitors attempting to follow Rei into places that she doesn't have clearance for entering. Fortunately, it seems that Rei has already seen through Kirishima's act... for now," Fuyutsuki said.

"Has she seen Terminal Dogma yet?" Gendo asked Fuyutsuki.

"I don't know, but perhaps... we should have Rei show her around, to dissuade her by simply giving her what she thinks she's looking for? That seemed to work for Agent Kaji," Fuyutsuki suggested.

"Hn... very well. I will contact Rei and have her escort Kirishima to Terminal Dogma following their next sync test. While there, she will explain to her everything that is not above her pay level," Gendo said.

"And if Kirishima is not fully satisfied by she is given?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.

"She will not be silenced... at least, not this early. Barnes has not played his full hand yet, so eliminating Kirishima could potentially be one of the stupidest things we can do... at this point, that is," Gendo said.

"And if SEELE tries anything?" Fuyutsuki asked him.

"Then Barnes will probably use his moles to sniff out the Committee's whereabouts and have them assassinated. He seems to view the girl as an unofficial daughter. And, unlike us, Barnes does not plan to commit Third Impact on  _anyone's terms_ , meaning that he will do whatever he thinks is necessary in order stop it. So long as he thinks that we share the same goal, he will covertly send us the tools that we will need to keep SEELE at bay until we can enact our own scenario," Gendo said.

"And if he discovers our true motives?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.

"He won't," Gendo replied.

"But if he does?" Fuyutsuki asked him again.

"That may depend on the status of Kirishima at the time of his discovery. If she is still alive when he 'supposedly' discovers our true motives, then we will need to lock down her Eva immediately, otherwise we will lose," Gendo said. "However, if she is dead, then he will be sending over pilot Wagner, no doubt with orders to destroy Lilith and the base as soon as the final Angel is defeated," Gendo said, running a dozen scenarios through his head at once.

"Is Kirishima truly that dangerous?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.

"According to Barnes himself... yes. Having witnessed her in action while at Second Branch, I can agree with Barnes on her combat skills. Even without an Eva, though, I believe she may still be formidable. Barnes mentioned giving Kirishima and Wagner defense training involving firearms and knives," Gendo said.

"Do you think she's smuggled any weapons into the country?" Fuyutsuki asked him.

"No, I do not think that she has," Gendo said. Fuyutsuki raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak, before Gendo cut him off. "I  _know_  that she has, Professor. The weapons may be mostly disassembled, but they are indeed here with her in Tokyo-3, or perhaps even somewhere in NERV HQ itself," Gendo said.

"Then is it possible that she's working with Agent Kaji?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.

"Possible, but I have no firm evidence so far. If they are indeed working together... we may need to adjust the scenario a bit," Gendo said. "After all... if we try to force things to go exactly as we planned, then we will be no different from SEELE," Gendo elaborated.

"If Barnes plays his hand too early, what do you think SEELE will do in response?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.

"I do not know. Physically, he's farther away from them than the rest of us, and he still has a functioning Evangelion in his possession. He may no longer posses the Lance of Longinus, having given it to us alongside its child, the Trident, and Unit Four-Beta, but I'm certain that Barnes has plenty of other tricks up his sleeves. After all, one does not develop tools that can derail SEELE's plans deliberately without being caught for very long, and yet Barnes has lasted quite some time," Gendo said.

"Ah, the Trident. SEELE made no mention of it during their last meeting with us. Do you think they're upset by its existence?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.

"Of course they're upset, but they won't do anything just yet... they do have an appearance to maintain. Especially with a few events lined up in the coming months. I believe there is a UN Summit of sorts scheduled to occur here in Tokyo Three... for some reason," Gendo said.

"I thought it was supposed to occur in Tokyo Two?" Fuyutsuki said.

"No. The Committee has no doubt decided to locate the summit here so as to test us and our abilities. Fuyutsuki, on the day of the summit... be prepared for anything. It may be nearly a month away, but we must not lower our guard or get careless," Gendo said. Fuyutsuki nodded his head in agreement.

"So... when should we expect a call from the Old Men?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.

"This evening... or tomorrow. They will give us just enough time to gather some information, but not enough time for us to do anything with it regarding the incident with the Angel.

* * *

**The Eva Pilots' Apartment Complex, Tuesday, April 28, 2043**

"Are you sure we shouldn't have asked her about it ahead of time, Misato?" Shinji asked his guardian as he, Rei, Kensuke, and Misato held trays of food in their hands. "Nonsense! Making this a surprise just makes it extra special!" Misato chirped in response.

Shinji shared a glance with Rei, who subtly shook her head and rolled her eyes in disapproval at Misato's plan. Rei had become far more expressive in the past few months, with Misato personally teaching her certain actions and phrases. Catching Rei's response, Shinji simply let out a sigh and nodded his head in agreement with Rei's assessment. Kensuke simply looked around the apartment before he noticed the small decoration above the door. It was a tiny motion sensor disguised as a light. He'd seen them plenty of times in tech magazines.

Meanwhile, Misato, wearing a big grin on her face, stepped up to the door and rang the door bell. "Oh, just wait until she sees all of the stuff we've brought over. This is long overdue, Shinji. We need to make her feel welcome, and from what you've told me about how she is at school, I don't think Miss Kirishima feels very welcome just yet," Misato said.

Soon, the door opened and Mana popped her head out, hiding the combat knife in her hand that she was keeping hidden from sight. "M-Major Katsuragi? What brings you here this late?" Mana asked, noting that it was almost 08:00 PM.

"Well... we've decided that to make you feel more welcome here in Tokyo Three, we're going to give you a house-warming party!" Misato announced happily. Mana looked at her quizzically as she slowly and stealthily slid her combat knife back into its holster and held it out of sight.

"Uh-huh. You sure you couldn't have... told me ahead of time? I mean... what if I had been... um... naked or something?" Mana asked her.

"Well, are you naked right now?" Misato asked, immediately catching Kensuke's attention.

"Um... no," Mana replied.

"Then there's no problem!" Misato replied. Mana glanced out at the rest of the group before letting out a sigh. As much as she wanted to slam the door shut, they had brought food, and she knew it was rude to do turn away guests with food.

"All right. Come on in. I was just in the middle of a Skype call with my mom, though, and I don't plan on cutting it short," Mana said as she opened the door wider, revealing her to be wearing Army fatigues in her size. She kept her knife hidden behind her back as she opened the door further to let everyone inside.

"Huh, it doesn't look too different from our own apartment," Shinji said as he stepped inside, carrying a tray of food in his hands. Walking past Mana, he noticed the small number of moving boxes that were still unopened in the kitchen and living room. "Uh, where should I set the food?" Shinji asked Mana as the others entered the apartment.

"Uh, somewhere in the kitchen. On the counter or the table. Either one will work," Mana replied from the doorway. After everyone was inside, Mana closed the door and walked behind them, keeping her knife hidden until she could find a place to stash it. She soon found such a place in the silverware drawer of the kitchen, stuffing it into the back quickly before anyone could notice.

"So, it seems kind of late for a housewarming party," Mana said as she returned to the living room, where her laptop was sitting on a coffee table. While Misato and the others were putting away the food, Mana sat down in front of her laptop, giving her mother an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but I couldn't just be rude to them," Mana said with a sigh.

"Oh, is this your mother?" Misato asked as she knelt down behind Mana, causing the girl's eyes to widen.

"Uh, yeah. I don't often have time to call her, what with time zones and sync tests," Mana replied, hiding her annoyance at her time with her mother being interrupted.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Misato said sheepishly.

" _You couldn't have known, Ma'am. So, who are you?_ " Aoi Kirishima asked over the stream in Japanese.

"I'm Major Misato Katsuragi. I'm NERV's tactical director," Misato said as she introduced herself.

" _Oh! So, you're the one giving Mana her orders then? She's not giving anyone any trouble, is she?_ " Aoi asked playfully.

"Mom!" Mana cried out.

" _Oh, come on, Mana. I'm just teasing!_ " Aoi replied over the feed.

"No, she's not giving us any trouble," Misato said. "She's pretty good at following orders," Misato added as the others walked over and looked at Mana's laptop.

" _And who are all of these people? Friends from school?_ " Aoi asked Mana as she saw Rei, Shinji, and Kensuke entering the frame.

"Huh?" Mana asked as she looked around, startled by the sudden appearance and close proximity of the others. Kensuke raised a hand and waved at Aoi.

"Hi! I'm Kensuke Aida!" Kensuke said. " _Pleased to meet you. You're friends with my daughter?_ " Aoi asked him. "Well... I'm an acquaintance," he admitted. "My dad works at NERV as a technician, so I tend to hear about lots of things that most of the other kids in school don't know about. I knew about Mana's arrival before most of the other pilots did!" Kensuke said proudly.

Mana raised an eyebrow at him.  _I wonder what else he knows?_

" _So, who are those two in the back?_ " Aoi asked, prompting Mana to turn and look at Shinji and Rei. "These are my fellow pilots," Mana said to her mother.

" _Ah. Well, which ones? You said there were four other pilots there in Japan, sweetheart. Which ones are these?_ " Aoi asked.

"Uh... I'm Shinji Ikari," Shinji said with a shrug. " _Ikari? Are you related to the Commander?_ " Aoi asked him. A pensive look crossed Shinji's face. "Uh... yeah. I'm, uh, related to him," he said without enthusiasm. Aoi then glanced in Rei's direction.

" _And just who are you, my dear?_ " Aoi asked the blue-haired girl.

"I am Rei Ayanami," Rei answered simply. Her voice no longer held its old monotone value, but it wasn't exactly emotive either.

" _I see. So, who pilots which Eva?_ " Aoi asked them.

Mana elbowed Shinji slightly to get him to respond. "Oh. Um, I'm the pilot of Unit One," Shinji said, glancing at Mana in annoyance briefly.

"And I am the pilot of Unit Zero," Rei stated without the need for prompting.

" _Well, it must be pretty interesting having another pilot at your side, right? It must make the Angels easier to deal with_ ," Aoi said. "Well, we haven't really needed to fight any Angels in our Evas recently, so... I guess only time will tell," Shinji replied.

The evening rolled by fairly quickly after the introductions were over, with Mana eventually ending the Skype call with her mother before indulging in a brief party with the others before ushering them out the door. As Kensuke was the last one out, he paused for a moment. "Yes, Aida-san?" Mana asked him.

"Um, well, I just, uh... you must be on pretty good terms with your stepmother to call her your mom, huh?" Kensuke asked her. Mana raised an eyebrow.

"Say what now?" she asked him with an edge to her voice.

"Well, it's just... all of the Eva pilots have dead mothers, as do nearly all of the other kids in our class," Kensuke said. Both of Mana's eyes widened at this statement.

 _So, everyone in the class is a potential Eva pilot. That's just... they really did that to all of those families? Those fucking bastards_ , Mana thought to herself. "Look, Kensuke, that woman I was talking to was my  _birth mother_ ," Mana finally said.

"Are you serious? That means you're, like, the only person in our class whose birth mother is still alive," Kensuke replied in surprise. "So... what about your father then?" Kensuke asked her carefully.

"He's dead," Mana replied bluntly.

"Oh. I'm... sorry to hear that," Kensuke said apologetically.

"It's okay. You wouldn't have known otherwise," Mana said. "Well... I'll see you at school tomorrow," she added as she patted Kensuke on the back and sent him out the door. "Good night!" she called out before closing the door. She then leaned back against it and sighed.

"Dammit... Barnes was right. There's a lot more going on here than I suspected," Mana whispered to herself.  _Although_ , she thought to herself,  _Kensuke seems to be rather knowledgeable. I bet I could probably get some info out of him without needing to try too hard. Then again, anything he knows is probably just something from the grapevine. Not exactly trustworthy_ , Mana thought. She pushed herself off the door and made her way into the kitchen, slowly retrieving her combat knife from the drawer before placing the food in the refrigerator.

* * *

**The Suzuhara Household, Friday, May 01, 2043**

"All right, you're doing good!" Asuka said proudly as Toji completed his math homework with a grin on his face. Both teenagers were sitting at a desk in Toji's bedroom.

"Yeah, I think I got dis now," Toji said as he solved one problem after another, using the spare sheet next to him to write down his problems and solve them.

"Of course, you had  _me_  for a teacher," Asuka said proudly, crossing her arms in front of her chest and smiling.

Toji chuckled as he glanced up at her. "Well... considering who our normal teacher in school is, maybe don't be  _too proud_ , you know?" Toji said.

Asuka frowned at him with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, really? I guess you won't be needing my help in the future then," Asuka said snootily.

"Come on, Red! I was just playin' with ya!" Toji responded. Asuka then took a sip from the bottle of water on the table.

"Well... okay. So... if you're able to get this without any problem, wann hit the arcade tomorrow or Sunday?" Asuka asked him.

"Huh? You wanna... hit the arcade?" Toji asked her.  _Like... a date? Naw, she just likes kicking my ass at whatever we do_ , Toji thought to himself.

"Sure! Think of it as a reward for all of your hard work," Asuka replied, grinning.

"Oh, you mean, a reward for  _you_  since you'll get to kick my ass at whatever games we play, right?" Toji asked her knowingly.

Asuka looked away form him sheepishly. "Maaaayyyybe," she replied in a manner not unlike her sister in arms. Toji crossed his arms and frowned at her, before shrugging his shoulders with a sigh.

"Eh, why not? It's not like I have much choice. You'll just wring my arm until I agree to it anyway," Toji said.

"Oh really? And what is  _that_  supposed to mean?" Asuka asked him with a dangerous grin on her face.

Toji leaned forward, not intimidated by Asuka's glare. "Well, if yer so eager ta know, it means-" "Toji! You left your phone downstairs!" Sakura called out as she walked into the room with said cell phone in her hand.

"I what?" Toji asked her curiously. Sakura held out the phone to her older brother.

"It's been vibrating on the couch for an hour now. I only felt it when I went to sit down and watch TV," Sakura replied as Toji gingerly picked the phone from her hand.

"Uh... thanks," Toji said.  _It must've been Ken-man trying to call me. But... he knows that Red's tutoring me tonight, so... he must be checking in to see if I'm still alive_ , Toji thought to himself as he swiped his finger across the phone and looked at the recent messages. Asuka looked over his shoulder at the screen, before her eyes widened in surprise.

"You got a call from NERV?" Asuka asked him curiously. Toji glanced at her in confusion.

"It must be a wrong number... unless it's my dad callin'," Toji said. His father worked as a technician at NERV HQ, alongside Kensuke's father. They were part of the repair crews for the Evangelions.

The phone soon vibrated again, and Toji swiped the green TALK button on the phone. "Yo, what's up?" Toji asked into the phone.

" _Toji Suzuhara?_ " a female voice asked over the phone. He didn't recognize her. "Uh, yeah... who's dis?" Toji asked in response.

" _My name is Doctor Ritsuko Akagi. I'm calling you on behalf of NERV to inform you that I will be at your school on Monday with some important information for you to review. This is entirely voluntary, of course,_ " Doctor Akagi said over the phone.

"Wait... are you tryin' ta tell me that I'm gonna be a pilot?" Toji asked point blank. He'd heard the name Akagi being mentioned by the other pilots plenty of times before.

" _Well... that's entirely up to you, Suzuhara-san. I'll give you the full details at your school on Monday. Arrive at the principals office as soon as the doors open. I'll be waiting for you then. Once again, this is voluntary. You are under no obligation to accept this offer, and it will not be held against you in the future if you decide to refuse_ ," Akagi replied.

"Uh... sure. I'll be there. Uh... see ya then?" Toji said awkwardly. " _Yes. See you then. Good evening, Suzuhara-san. Bye_ ," Akagi said before hanging up on her end. Toji then ended the call on his end as well, before he glanced at Asuka, who had a strange expression on her face.

"Yo, Red? You okay?" Toji asked her. "Red?" he asked her again.

"You... you're gonna be a pilot? But... you don't even have an Eva assigned to you," Asuka said softly, a strange mix of emotions flowing through her.

"Well, the lady didn't say that exactly, buuuut... dat's probably what's gonna happen," Toji said.

"So... are you going to accept the offer?" Asuka asked him. Standing in the doorway, Sakura watched the scene play out.

"Well... I don't know, really. I mean... you guys have five Evas already, you know? I think that any more would kinda be like overkill," Toji said. "Then again, I've got two of the basic requirements already," he added.

"Oh? And what are those?" Asuka asked him.

"Well, I'm a teenager livin' in Tokyo Three, and I've got a dead mother," Toji said, recalling the day he had learned that  _ALL_  of his fellow classmates had one or more dead parents. That had been shortly after his own mother had died following their move to Tokyo-3, and he'd known early on that something wasn't right about that.

"That's not funny," Asuka said with a scowl.

"I ain't jokin'," Toji said. "When I first moved here, I was the only kid in my class with both parents still breathin," Toji explained. "But, a couple months after we settled in, our mom died in an accident on the way to work," he continued, glancing over at Sakura, who frowned slightly at the mention of their mother's death.

"After that, I soon learned that  _everyone_  in our class had a mom who was dead, or both of their parents had died and they were livin' with relatives or a foster family or somethin'," Toji continued. "At first, I thought it was dis weird coincidence, but after Shinji moved here, I found out that his mother had died too, and then you an' Mari moved here, and I learned that your mothers were also dead... I started thinkin' about it again. And... Red, somethin' is very wrong in dis city," Toji said.

"There's somethin' weird goin' on, and... maybe, if I become a pilot, I can figure out what it is," Toji said. "So... I'm gonna take the offer an' join you guys," Toji said firmly. "Lookin' back, my mother's death wasn't no accident. There was more to it than dat, and I'm gonna found out what happened," Toji said, a look of determination crossing his features.

"Nothing I can say will stop you, will it?" Asuka asked him somberly. Toji raised an eyebrow.

"No, but why stop me?" Toji asked her in response.

"Well... you could get killed by an Angel," she said, feeling a strange and unwelcome tightness wrapping around her heart as the idea played through her mind.

"Please, there's like, five of you guys already. I'd like to see even one Angel take on  _five_  Evas and win," Toji said confidently. "Besides, with there bein' only five Evas, I'm probably just gonna be a backup pilot or somethin'," Toji added with a shrug.

Asuka's frown lessened, but she still felt uneasy. "I... I just... I don't want to see you get killed," Asuka admitted. Toji nodded his head in understanding.

"Yeah, nobody likes seein' someone they know get killed, but-" "I don't mean it that way," Asuka interrupted, rubbing her left arm with her right hand. "I mean, yeah, I do mean it kind of like that, but... never mind. I just don't wanna see you get killed," Asuka said.

Toji was not stupid, despite his maturity-related handicaps. "Red... are we friends?" Toji asked Asuka. Asuka looked at him and blinked in surprise at the question.

"Well... I-I guess so. I mean, with how long we've known each other now, and with how often we go to each other's homes and study together, and how often we go to the arcade or play video games together... of course we're friends," Asuka replied.

"So, couldn't you just say that you don't wanna see one of yer friends die? That ain't so difficult to say, Red," Toji said. Asuka looked away from him briefly. "So, come on, just say it. I'm yer friend an' ya don't wanna see me die," Toji implored her. There was something else he was hoping to hear her say, something that he'd been suspecting they both had in common, though neither of them would be the first to admit it to each other unless forced to do so.

"Alright, I'll say it," Asuka said with sagging shoulders. "Toji... you're my friend and I don't wanna see you die, so please reject the offer of being an Eva pilot!" Asuka blurted out.

Toji crossed his arms at her and smirked, hiding his disappointment at Asuka not saying what he'd secretly wanted to hear. "Well... I guess dat wasn't so hard to say, now was it?" Toji asked Asuka with a smug expression on his face.

"You're infuriating," Asuka grumbled under her breath as she noticed his expression.

"Yeah? Well, I learn from da best," Toji shot back with a grin. Asuka's eyes shot open and an angry grin formed on her face.

"Oh,  _really!?_ " Asuka asked him in false anger and annoyance.

"Yeah,  _really_ ," Toji replied, still grinning. Pushing Asuka's buttons just gave him the strangest sense of satisfaction some times.

Asuka's look of annoyance quickly faded and was replaced by a resigned smile. "Okay. Now, finish up the last of your math work and maybe we can play a video game together downstairs," Asuka said.

"You got it," Toji said as he returned to his seat.

* * *

**The Streets of Tokyo-3, Saturday Morning, May 09, 2043**

"I still can't believe we got called in for a sync test this early," Mana grumbled as she walked side-by-side with Asuka, Mari, Shinji, and Rei. Unlike the others, who were all wearing their school uniforms, Mana was wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt. While Mana knew about there being a half a day of school on Saturdays, the moment she found out that she had a sync test scheduled for that morning, she'd decided to wear casual clothes, figuring that she and the others wouldn't finish the test in time for school anyway.

"The test had already been scheduled a week in advance," Rei soon stated. Mana rolled her eyes at the blue-haired girl.

"Yeah, but I like being able to sleep in on weekends," Mana retorted.

"Kirishima, due to us having a half-day of school on Saturday, you would not have been able to sleep in regardless," Rei pointed out.

"It's the principle of the matter, Ayanami-san," Mana retorted. Rei rolled her eyes at Mana before shaking her head. Asuka glanced over at Rei as she did this, and her eyes widened in shock.

"Holy shit! You can emote!" Asuka blurted as she noticed Rei's actions, stopping in her tracks with eyes wide open. Everyone stopped to stare at Asuka for a minute.

"No kidding," Shinji said as he looked between Rei and Asuka. "Asuka, Rei's been getting more emotive every week since she started living with me and Misato last year," Shinji said, remembering the days when Rei would simply stare at him blankly when he would try to engage in conversation with her. And then there was the night of the battle with the Fifth Angel, when Rei had slapped him for his cowardice, mere hours before he had returned the favor, which... he still felt bad about when he remembered it. Granted, since Rei had slapped him first, he didn't feel guilty of being sexist or abusive or anything, but he still didn't like the fact that he had committed an act of physical violence against another person  _in general_.

"And besides, remember when you mocked her for not being able to eat meat?" Shinji reminded her with a frown on his face.

"Well... I figured that was because I had just pushed her buttons far enough," Asuka said sheepishly.

"Whoa, hold on a second. What's this with you mocking another pilot for something?" Mana asked as she turned around and looked at Asuka with an intrigued expression on her face. "So, I'm not the only one you've had problems with, eh?" Mana continued as she stepped over to Asuka.

"Back off,  _Corporal_ ," Asuka growled as Mana leaned in close to her.

"We're not on the base yet... Asuka," Mana retorted with a grin.

Meanwhile, Mari, who was busy listening to her portable media player, took her headphones off as she noticed a figure approaching their group in the distance. Adjusting her glasses, Mari leaned forward to get a better look. "What the... what's he doing out here?" Mari asked as she saw a familiar face approaching.

"Hey guys! Wait for me!" Toji called out as he crossed the street, depserate to get to the other side before the light changed colors. Once he finished, he caught his breath before rubbing the back of his head.

"Toji? Why aren't you in school?" Shinji asked him.

"Didn't... Red tell ya?" Toji asked him. Shinji raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Tell me? Tell me what? Wait..." Shinji said as he noticed the ID card in Toji's hand. A portion of the NERV logo could be seen on it. "No... you... you're a  _pilot!?_ " Shinji asked him incredulously.

"Uh, well... reserve pilot, for now at least," Toji said.

Everyone then looked at Asuka, who sighed in resignation. "I... I told him to reject the offer," she said, before focusing her attention on Toji. "And you took it anyway, despite my warnings about how dangerous the job is," Asuka said pointedly.

"I don't back down from a challenge, Red. And this... is probably one of the greatest challenges there is," Toji shot back, frowning at her.

"You're an idiot," Asuka shot at him with a scowl. "You should've rejected the offer when you had the chance," she added. Shinji silently nodded his head in agreement with Asuka, remembering all of the times that he had been injured while fighting the Angels, and the one time he had even been  _killed_ , albiet temporarily, by the Fifth Angel. Every once in a while, he would have a nightmare about that experience, and wake up with his sheets soaking with sweat before he could talk himself back into falling asleep.

"Well too bad, 'cause yer stuck with me now," Toji said, crossing his arms and looking at her with a defiant expression.

"So-I mean, Asuka, having an additional pilot in our ranks may be beneficial to us," Rei said, remembering that Asuka had requested she been referred to by her first name when off-duty.

"In the event that one or more of us are unable or unavailable to pilot our Evangelions, having a pilot in reserve would allow NERV to retain its capacity to deploy multiple Evangelions in a single sortie for numerical superiority against an Angel," Rei elaborated. Mari nodded her head in agreement with Rei.

"Hey, she's got a valid point," Mari said in agreement.

Asuka reluctantly nodded her head in agreement. "Fine, your argument is... valid, Rei, but that doesn't I mean I like it," Asuka said with a sigh.

"You do not have to like it, Asuka," Rei said. "I do not like being poked with needles during examinations, yet I must put up with it anyway. Shinji does not enjoy piloting the Eva at all, yet he still does so because he knows what is at stake if he does not do so. Kirishima clearly does not enjoy wearing a uniform to school yet does so because it is required of her. You may not like having to give us orders, yet you still do so because you are the most capable, and-" "Wait, I  _do_  like giving people orders. I'm a natural born leader," Asuka interrupted.

"Oh," Rei said in slight embarrassment. "I apologize for my statement," she said, slightly bowing her head.

"Um... apology accepted," Asuka said dismissively. She then turned to look at Mana, who was waiting for the traffic light to change colors.

"So, I'm yer new reserve pilot, and yer just gonna hafta live with dat," Toji said firmly, his arms still crossed.

"Yeah... I guess so," Asuka said in resignation, before she joined Mana in waiting for the light to change colors. Mana glanced at Asuka curiously before returning her attention to the traffic lights.

* * *

**The New Atami Coastal Region...**

Moving through the murky waters of the Atami coast, created when the flooding caused by melting ice caps overwhelmed much of Japan's Atami region, a large black octagon could be seen. As hundreds of fish swam around it through the ruins of an underwater village, the straight lines of the octagon began to unfold around it, revealing a large black disc in the center as the giant black poles revealed themselves to be four long legs, raising the disc out of the water, causing multiple water-dwelling fowl to fly away.

On the underside of this disc was a giant orange and green "eye" in the center, while a small white skull-like bone structure could be seen on the front of the disc, with two green diagonal lines extending back towards the first legs on each side of the mask. Around the rim of the disc, between each of the legs, was a large blue triangle with a yellow circle in the center forming an "eye."

The Tenth Angel, Matarael, had arrived in Japan. Matarael slowly made its way through the sunken structures and newly formed marshlands of the New Atami Coast, heading inland, slowly making its way to Tokyo-3, where it felt the faint call of ADAM, and the faint stench of Lilith.

* * *

**Deep Inside NERV HQ...**

Ritsuko leaned back in her chair as she looked at the data collected by the MAGI. "Well... I guess I'd better type up a report for Gendo," she muttered. According to the data on the screen in front of her, Evangelion Unit 01 was indeed beginning to develop an S-2 organ of its own, thanks to its consumption of the previous Angel. However, the organ was in an undeveloped state, and its abilities would no doubt be limited until it was fully developed.

Walking into the room and looking over her shoulder, 1st Lieutenant Maya Ibuki read the data as well. "Incredible," Maya whispered, startling Ritsuko. "Unit One is developing its own S-Two organ? That means it won't need a power cable anymore," Maya said in awe.

"Not quite, Maya. It's developing very slowly, so any additional power it gives to the Eva will be miniscule until it reaches its full size," Ritsuko explained. "Right now, Unit Four-Beta still has the most versatility of the available units, but... once that organ is fully developed, Unit One will be quite unstoppable. Four hours and thirty-seven minutes may seem like a generous time limit, but it's still a time limit," Ritsuko added with a smirk. "An S-Two organ, however, would give Unit One an unlimited internal power supply, without the need to recharge at all."

Maya inhaled and shook her head with a smile. "So, how long do you think it will be before it's fully developed?" Maya asked Ritsuko. Ritsuko opened her mouth to answer, before shutting it in thought.

"I'm not sure. Let's check the MAGI's calculations," Ritsuko said as she spun her chair over to another terminal, just before the lights went out. A few seconds later, a blue emergency light filled the lab. "What the hell?" Ritsuko asked rhetorically.

"The power went out," Maya said.

"But if the emergency lights are on, then that means... we're running on auxiliary power," Ritsuko stated.

"How long can the auxiliary generators last?" Maya asked her.

"About twelve hours at maximum output, which means twelve hours with every wall socket plugged in and every computer and electrical device running non-stop," Ritsuko replied.

"Even the MAGI?" Maya asked her.

"Not quite. The MAGI have their own special power generator that's connected to a geothermal plant located here in the Geofront. NERV HQ also has a line connected to that plant, but we normally just share power with Tokyo Three. Unfortunately, all of our sensor equipment up top utilize the Tokyo Three power stations, which means we'd never know if an Angel were to attack until it's too late," Ritsuko explained.

"But... I thought Tokyo Three utilized the same power stations as the rest of the Geofront facilities?" Maya asked in confusion.

"That was the original plan, and when something goes wrong topside, they switch over to our secondary generators, but for us to lose power like this must mean... hold on a second," Ritsuko said before she walked over to the com panel on the wall and grabbed the phone, quickly entering the code for the power monitoring division.

After two rings, someone picked up. "Hello, this is Doctor Ritsuko Akagi, I'd like to know what's going on," she said into the phone.

" _Well, Doctor, we'd like to know as well. We just got a call from the guys at the monitoring stations up top saying that their main stations have been shut down. Someone tripped a breaker, and our station just lost most of its connection to the geothermal plant. We're trying to figure out how this happened, but right now we've got only two backup lines connected to the geothermal plant, and they're the ones meant for the MAGI systems and the medical facilities_ ," the station director said over the phone.

"Wait, only those two remain unaffected? And the rest were taken out at the same time?" Ritsuko asked him suspiciously.

" _Yeah. It's the damnedest thing, especially since we're supposed to be having the U.N. summit coming up next week! I'll tell ya, this is one hell of a coincidence!_ " he replied.

Ritsuko's left eye began to twitch.  _Coincidence my ass! SEELE is playing one of their little games with us! I don't even **want** to know what Gendo must've said to piss them off this badly during their last meeting_ , Ritsuko thought to herself.

**The Control Room...**

"Switch all systems to the backups immediately!" Misato shouted at the technicians, before she grabbed a bottle of aspirin and downed it with some water. "Of all the days to come into work with a hangover," she muttered to herself.

"Major, we've lost just power to the communication lines from Tokyo Three!" 2nd Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga shouted in alarm.

"W-What!? See if the MAGI can fix it!" Misato responded angrily.

"We're trying, but access to everything has been cut off!" 2nd Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba shouted from his station. "We only have communications between Geofront facilities right now. Anything up topside is beyond our reach for the moment!" he added worriedly.

Up on the highest level of the bridge, Gendo remained seated with his hands in his usual pose, while Fuyutsuki frowned. "You know that SEELE is responsible for this," Fuyutsuki said quietly to Gendo.

"Of course," Gendo replied. "Who  _else_  would throw a tantrum like this?" he asked with a smirk on his face, hidden behind his gloved hands. Fuyutsuki merely sighed and shook his head in response.

* * *

**NERV HQ Topside Access Building, Tokyo-3...**

"Huh?" Toji asked as he slid his card through the reader next to the front doors. "That's weird. Maybe I'm not fully registered in the system yet?" Toji asked rhetorically as he held his card up for closer examination. Rei walked over and looked at the card.

"No. It should be in the system if it has a bar code and access number printed on it. Allow me to try mine," Rei said before she retrieved her card from her satchel and swiped it through the card reader. "The machine is not working," she stated with mild curiosity after seeing the lights remain dull.

"I guess it's down for maintenance or something?" Toji asked her. Rei shook her head in the negative as a response.

"No. There would be a sign stating such posted next to something so important," Rei said with a frown. She looked around at the streets and saw that the traffic lights were turned off. Walk signs were darkened, and electronic billboards on the sides of buildings were blank. "We've lost power," Rei concluded.

"Say what now?" Asuka asked Rei, who simply pointed out all of the electronic devices that were no longer functioning. Asuka looked back at Rei after taking in the sights, before glancing over at the doors where Toji was standing. "Well, shit," Asuka muttered.

"Okay, we've gotta find another way into HQ," Asuka announced.

"Or... and hear me out for a minute," Mana said, holding up a hand, "I propose... that we just go home and get back in our beds. I refuse to go to school at this point on a Saturday, and I know how to get into my apartment without needing electricity to power the doors and locks. I'm just sayin', we can make this easy for ourselves if we all go home."

"No. And since we're now on NERV property, I can pull rank on you,  _Corporal_ ," Asuka said with a grin. Mana looked at where she was standing before glancing back up at Asuka.

" _Fuck_ ," Mana swore before she marched over to Asuka. "Okay, what do you need me to do... Warrant Officer?" Mana asked Asuka.

"Just call me Asuka for now," Asuka replied. "Anyway, I need you to find something to pry open these doors," Asuka said.

"Just me?" Mana asked her.

"No. I'm sending Mari with you," Asuka said before turning to look at her. "Hey Mari!" Asuka called out, before motioning for the girl with her hand, prompting the bespectacled girl to finally take off her head phones.

"Uh, sorry about that. What were we talking about?" Mari asked them. Asuka smacked her forehead with her palm.

"Dammit, Mari! Pay attention!" Asuka snapped at her sister in arms.

"Okay. What do you need, Princess?" Mari asked her sweetly.

"I need you to help Mana find something to pry open this door. Unless you want her to use your thick head as a battering ram, that is," Asuka replied. Mari rolled her eyes at Asuka before walking over to grab Mana by the arm and pull her along.

"Hey!" Mana cried out as she felt Mari's unexpectedly strong grip.

Asuka then turned to look at Rei and Toji. "Rei, can you call someone in NERV HQ on your phone?" Asuka asked her. Rei nodded her head.

"Hey, wait a minute, Asuka? Why didn't you just  _do that_  to begin with!?" Shinji asked the red-headed half-German girl.

"It... didn't occur to me," Asuka replied. "Anyway, I need you to try contacting Misato on your phone, while I try to contact Kaji on mine," Asuka said before she pulled out her phone. She then glanced over at Toji. "Uh... wait for Mana and Mari to return, and then help them pry open the door," Asuka said to Toji. Toji nodded his head in response as Asuka dialed Kaji's phone.

Rei was the first one to reach anybody. " _Rei, where are you?_ " Gendo asked over the phone. "I am currently outside of the NERV HQ topside building along with the other pilots. The doors are locked and the entire city appears to have lost electrical power," Rei replied.

" _Indeed. Much of our interior facilities down in the Geofront have also lost primary power. It appears that the main power stations have experienced an unexpected loss of service. Work crews are already attempting to locate the cause of this disturbance. Rei, we currently only have primary power for the MAGI computer systems' primary unit and the medical facilities_ ," Gendo said over the phone.

"I understand. Commander, if we manage to force our way inside of the building before primary power is restored, what course of action should we take? What would be the safest route without electrical power?" Rei asked into the phone. " _If you manage to access the entrance to the Geofront before power is restored to the rest of the city, make your way to the medical facilities. They should have working transport rails. However, if necessary, make use of the backdoor tunnels. You know what I am referring to, Rei_ ," Gendo replied. Despite him not being able to see her, Rei still nodded her head anyway.

"Affirmative, Commander. I will inform you of our progress periodically," Rei said into the phone. " _Understood. Stay safe, Rei_ ," Gendo said before hanging up.

Next, Shinji managed to contact Misato, only to discover that she was dealing with a hangover. " _So just wait for us to call you. Don't do anything stupid until then, got it!?_ " Misato asked tiredly over the phone. "Yeah, I got it," Shinji replied, frowning.

"So... I'll talk to you when the power is back online," Shinji said. "Bye," he added before hanging up. "I wish she wouldn't drink so damn much," he muttered under his breath. In the weeks since the Ninth Angel had attacked, Shinji had noticed Misato increasing her alcohol intake, presumably as a way to deal with the trauma of the event. At the rate she was going, however, she was going to need an intervention in a few months time.

"Okay! We're back!" Mana called out as she carried a golf club in her hands.

Asuka raised an eyebrow at her. "Um, how do you plan on prying the door open with  _that?_ " Asuka asked Mana.

"Prying? Pfft! I plan on  _unlocking_  the doors with this," Mana said with a shit-eating grin.

"And... how do you plan on doing that, exactly?" Asuka asked the other red-head as she walked up the stairs to the doorway, urging Toji to step back several feet.

"Oh... like this," Mana said nonchalantly before she held the club back and swung it forward, smashing it into the glass window of the door on her left.

"Mana, what the hell are you doing!?" Shinji cried out in alarm.

"Breaking and entering," Mana replied bluntly as she swung again to clear a bigger space out in the door. "Ha-ha! Fuck you, glass!" Mana let out ecstatically as she swung a third time to give herself enough space to step inside the broken door. She then used the club to push away the rest of the glass and motioned for the other pilots to follow her.

"Hm... not bad," Asuka said. "I'm actually impressed. You've got some ovaries, girl," she added as she ducked inside the broken door. Toji was next, followed by Mari and then Rei. Shinji stepped through hesitantly watching for broken glass on the floor of the lobby as he made his way over to the others.

"Hey, I'm just doing what I can with what I've got," Mana replied with a smirk as she pressed further into the lobby.

"Mana, do you know how much trouble you could get into for doing that?" Shinji asked. Mana rolled her eyes at him in response. "Besides, Misato said that we should wait for them to call us after the power has been restored," Shinji added.

"Actually, Shinji, the Commander told me that if we manage to enter the entrance to the Geofront before power is restored, we should make our way to the medical facilities, where primary power is still intact," Rei said. Shinji's jaw dropped at Rei.

"Rei... did the Commander actually  _say_  for us to try entering the Geofront before power is restored?" Shinji asked her.

"No. But he did not dissuade me from attempting to do so either," Rei replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Hey, Ikari-kun, do you always do what Miss Drinks-A-Lot tells you to do?" Mana asked him as she rested the golf club against her shoulder.

"Okay, first of all, Kirishima-san, Misato is my superior officer, and since we're probably on-duty right now... I think I should follow the orders given to me!" Shinji replied as he stepped forward, closing the distance between himself and Mana.

"Grr, feisty," Mana said with a grin, before a more serious look came over her face. "Look, Shinji, sometimes you just gotta do what's necessary in order to get anything done," she started, grabbing everyone else's attention, especially Rei's. "Because, and this is  _really fucking important_ , not all of the orders given to you by your superiors are going to be the right ones. Some of them are going to be  _really stupid_ , in fact. If you wanna survive or save the people you care about, then sometimes you need to throw caution to the wind and tell your superiors to suck it because you've got the balls to do what they won't," Mana continued.

"Pfft. American machismo at its stupidest," Asuka muttered in contempt.

Mana gave Asuka the finger in response. "Well, that being said, don't do it  _all the time_. Just when you  _know_  it's necessary," Mana said as a compromise, not wishing to get into an argument with Asuka. "Otherwise... you'll end up getting yourself killed... or worse," Mana added, hoping to appease Asuka just enough, since being on official NERV property meant that Sohryu was now in charge, at least since Mari showed no desire to lead anyone.

"So... if we're all done standing around, I'd say we should get a move on," Mana said as she started walking towards the interior of the building, passing the strangely empty front desk, golf club still in hand.

"Hey, wait a minute! I'm in charge here!" Asuka shouted as she ran up to Mana and stepped in front of her. "Everyone, form up on me! Come on, guys, move it! Double time!" Asuka shouted at the others, who quickly made their way over to her. Mana simply rolled her eyes at Asuka.

"Hey, Mana?" Asuka asked as they walked into a dark hallway.

"Yeah?" Mana replied.

"Where did you  _find_  that thing anyway?" Asuka asked her.

Mana remained silent.

"Mana?" Asuka asked her again. "Fine. I'm probably better off not knowing anyway."

* * *

**Somewhere Inside NERV HQ...**

Sitting in a bathroom stall, Special Inspector Ryoji Kaji frowned. He wasn't upset by the lack of proper lighting in the room, though the blue emergency light did have a rather calming effect on him, nor was he put off by the fact that he was in the bathroom when this blackout had happened. No, the reason he was upset was the fact that he had dropped the new roll of toilet paper in surprise when the lights had gone out, and he was now sitting on the toilet trying to figure out if he could slip off the seat, reach under the door of the stall, and retrieve the roll of new toilet paper without making a mess.

Kaji had done many brave and life-threatening things in his life. He had even spent the last nine years raising two teenage girls by himself, though not without some amount of help from various friends here and there, and he even worked as an agent for multiple government and military entities. But this newest predicament, he realized, was perhaps the greatest challenge he had ever faced in his life.

"Well... I'll flip a coin," he said to himself before reaching into his pants pockets.

* * *

**Outskirts of Tokyo-3, Two Hours Later...**

Sitting in a helicopter a JSSDF commander watched as the giant Angel made its way towards Tokyo-3. "Why hasn't NERV launched their Evas yet?" he asked out loud.

"Sir, we've just received word that all of Tokyo Three has experience a massive blackout. All communications not connected to satellites or cell towers are unresponsive!" a helicopter pilot relayed from his seat.

The commander grimaced and swore at this information. "Great.  _Wonderful!_ " he barked sarcastically. "Well... I guess it gives us a chance to show off early," he muttered. The commander then took out his cell phone. "So... cell phones still work, right? Okay then," he said before he called up his superiors.

"Yes. A massive blackout," he said after explaining things to them. "I'm requesting permission to launch Jet Alone against the Angel until NERV can launch its Evas," he requested.

The commander then nodded his head. "Thank you, sir. I'll give the ground team the word right away. We'll have it rolled into Tokyo Three in under thirty minutes. Over," he said before hanging up and calling the ground forces stationed outside of Tokyo-3.

**Meanwhile...**

Matarael moved closer to the grand futuristic looking city in the distance. Its gigantic long legs maneuvered it around the countryside, passing mountains and stepping over rivers and forests with ease. With its Grand Eye below, it watched as various animals scurried around out in the open as it passed over them. Lilith's progeny, it was aware, defenseless against it in all ways.

A cool breeze passed through the air, sweeping across Matarael's body as it glided forward above the canopy of trees below. Birds flew around its tree-like legs as it slowly moved forward, taking its time. There had been no opposition in the time since its arrival, and the peaceful landscape around it had allowed the Angel to view the wonders created by Lilith.

It hoped that its own progeny would be able to replicate this after it merged with Lilith to start the replanting of life, as the beauty of the trees and forests below it offered a tranquil contrast the cold and metallic feel of the city it saw up ahead. Up head lied Lilith, the one who had stopped ADAM and his progeny's rightful claim to the Earth by sheer accident. But ADAM also lied ahead as well, calling out to his seeds of life, faintly, but surely.

* * *

**Deep Inside NERV HQ's Geofront Transport Terminal...**

"Okay, Ayanami-kun?" Mana asked as she looked at the various platforms for rail systems spread out through the Geofront. "Can you come over here and tell us which rail will take us down to the medical facilities? We can probably make our way to HQ from there," Mana requested.

Rei walked over to the still-powered control panel where Mana was standing. "This one, with the green light," Rei said, pointing at the obvious light above the listed terminal. Mana grinned at her sheepishly.

"Uh... of course," Mana said, letting out an embarrassed chuckle. She watched as Rei accessed the terminal and brought up a request screen on a nearby monitor. "Hm... looks like it's been locked down," Mana said as she saw the large red X on the screen, overlaying an image of a train car.

Rei's eyes narrowed. "Give me ninety seconds," Rei requested as she began opening up a command prompt to access the MAGI directly. Thirty seconds later, the tram car was unlocked and being sent their way.

"Ninety? Do you always multiply your task times by three, Scotty?" Mana asked Rei with a grin.

"My name is Rei Ayanami. It is not Scotty," Rei said with a frown. Mana sighed and shook her head in response.

"Rei... you don't watch much TV, do you?" Mana asked her.

"I occasionally watch cooking programs and educational programs regarding the history of the Earth prior to Second Impact. However, I do not make a habit of doing so, as I prefer to read books instead," she replied. Mana rolled her eyes and chuckled at the bluenette in response.

"Okay, fair enough," Mana said as she put an arm around Rei's shoulder, causing the girl to tense up briefly. "When we get back to the apartment complex today, I've got something to show you," Mana said with a grin. "It's a little something I smuggled into the country using Unit Four-Beta's armor compartments," Mana elaborated. "I think you might find it interesting," she added.

"Please remove your arm from my person, Corporal Kirishima," Rei requested in her old monotone. While her voice was monotone, her eyes had a look of alarm and intense stress written about them, and Mana noticed this very quickly as she pulled away from the girl.

"Sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Mana said as she saw Rei begin to relax again.

"Hey, did you guys get the tram working?" Asuka asked as she attempted to read a technical manual that she had found in a nearby cabinet.  _Shit, it's all in fucking Kanji_ , Asuka thought to herself grumpily.

"Yeah, we got it working! So just keep your panties on!" Mana called back.

"Watch your tongue, Corporal," Asuka retorted.

Mana rolled her eyes at Asuka in response, before something odd occurred to her. "Hey, guys? Why does the transport terminal still have power? I mean, I know that part of it is connected to the medical facility, but... this seems kind of convenient, doesn't it? All but two, make that  _three_ , sections of Tokyo Three and the Geofront lose power, communication lines are taken down, and only the transport terminal is among the three locations left intact? Something doesn't seem right," Mana said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mari asked her.

"Well... I think it means the blackout was  _deliberate_ ," Mana said, her voice taking on a rather dark edge. "I think somebody did this on purpose. An accidental blackout wouldn't have left the transport terminal intact," Mana said. She then walked over to one of the computer terminals nearby and tried to gain access.

"What are you doing?" Shinji asked her.

"I'm gonna access the transport logs to see if there's anything suspicious," Mana replied, only to find that her access was blocked. She needed administrator level privileges to gain access to the parts of the system that she wanted.

"Wait... are you tryin' ta say that this whole thing was sabotage?" Toji asked her. Mana smirked at him.

"You're rather perceptive, aren't you? Of course I think it was sabotage. And I've got a good idea of just who was responsible," Mana said, before she slapped a hand over her mouth. She then turned to look at the others. "You guys didn't hear that last part, capiche?" she asked them, a dark tone once again taking over her features and her voice, causing even Asuka to look at Mana warily.

"Who...  _are you?_ " Shinji asked Mana.

"I'm Corporal Mana Kirishima, pilot of Evangelion Test Model Unit Four-Beta, of the Evangelion Pilot Corps, working for NERV. I watch too much TV, can't understand Kanji, and I hate sushi. I fucking hate it. I had it once on my tenth birthday, and a month later I needed to get a tapeworm removed from my body. Never touched it since," Mana revealed. "Anyway, what was I saying?" she asked, having lost her train of thought.

"Oh yeah, I'm also the only Evangelion pilot whose biological mother is still alive," she added as she looked everyone in the eye.

"Hey, there's no need to rub it in," Toji said to her.

"I'm not. I'm just telling you who I am," she replied before kicking the desk holding the nearby computer terminal. "And I also hate wearing your stupid fucking school uniforms," Mana spat out bitterly with a frown.

"Hey, they're not so bad," Shinji said.

"Yeah, but that's because you  _guys_  get to wear actual pants. We girls have to wear  _skirts_  because... you know what? On Monday, I'm wearing pants with my uniform, and Horaki-san can suck on my clit if she wants to complain about it," Mana said defiantly as she crossed her arms. Toji actually snickered at her statement.

"Suck on your... Bfftttt! Bahaaahahaaaa! Oh! Oh, that's great!" Toji laughed as he clutched his sides. "I mean... seriously, that's... [snicker]... that's fuckin' great, babe!" he let out.

Asuka frowned at Toji's reaction to Mana's statement. "Cadet Suzuhara, please control yourself," Asuka said, referring to Toji by his official rank for the first time. Toji blinked in surprise, before stifling his laughter as he forced himself to stand up straight.

"Y-Yes... uh... Ma'am," he said awkwardly.

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Topside, Thirty Minutes Later...**

Standing over the streets of Tokyo-3, Matarael looked around for the easiest way to get down to the source of Lilith's stench and ADAM's call. Reaching a rather empty lot, it began to unleash a drizzle of corrosive green liquid from a ring of sockets surrounding its Grand Eye on the bottom of its body, slowly melting away the street below it.

As several minutes passed, a large hole began to form in the top of the deployment box that Matarael had located, before a strange sound grabbed the Angel's attention. Shifting its body so that its front eye could see the interloper, Matarael found itself intrigued by the sight before it.

Standing in a street across from it was a large metallic figure, with red, tan, and silver coloration on its metal body. On the front of it was a large wide curved grill, creating the appearance of a creepy smile of sorts. Printed on the shoulders of the metallic robot were the words 'JET ALONE' in English.

Matarael took one look at the goofy-looking robot with broad shoulders before it promptly turned around and resumed its task, not even bothering to consider this thing a threat. This was a mistake, however, as a series of ports opened up across the robot's shoulders, revealing missile pods. The pods soon fired, and the missiles streaked through the air before hitting Matarael in the side, blasting holes into its body as orange blood splashed out.

The Angel quickly spun around and glared at the robot with anger. It quickly flared its A.T. Field, causing the next volley of missiles to impact against an faint orange hexagonal field. Lifting up one of its gigantic, skyscraper-sized legs, it then brought the limb down, only for Jet Alone to simply side-step the leg and grab it with immese strength before pulling on it, dragging Matarael away from its hole. This was completely unexpected.

Trying to lift the leg up into the air again, Matarael attempted to shake Jet Alone away, only for the robot to activate a series of booster jets on its back and legs in order to keep itself moving with the large black limb. The robot then flew forward, still holding the limb, and began to press it backwards before a revolting crunching and wet snapping sound was heard as the limb was broken in half at the joint, spraying orange Angel blood all over the city.

Jet Alone soon landed softly on a street across from Matarael, carefully turning itself around in an effort to avoid damaging the nearby buildings. Jet Alone began marching forward to the bleeding Angel before extending its arms and hands to push against the creature's body, toppling it over onto its side. Jet Alone then began raising its three-fingered fists back before throwing them forward, landing punch after punch onto the Angel.

Matarael deployed its A.T. Field again, only for Jet Alone to punch right through it, hitting it in the underside near its Grand Eye. The Angel felt indescribable pain as the barrier of its soul was shattered by this unliving metal golem. This was not supposed to happen! This was never supposed to happen!

Matarael's Grand Eye looked up at Jet Alone in fear, before the robot stepped back and opened another port to send forth dozens of missiles, each one impacting the soft underbelly of the Angel, ripping it to pieces and sending blood and guts all over the city streets. Soon, the red core of the Angel was visible in the center of its body, damaged by the missiles. Stepping forward, Jet Alone reached into the dying Angel's body and grabbed the core before applying thousands of tons of mechanical pressure onto it, eventually cracking it and causing it to break into pieces.

The laughably weak Tenth Angel, Matarael, was no more.

* * *

**NERV HQ, Control Room, Three Hours Later...**

Inside the control room, the lights returned from blue to normal as primary power was finally restored to both the facility at large and the rest of Tokyo-3. "Finally!" Ritsuko cried out, having grown weary of the blue lights. Maya exhaled in disappointment, as she had found the blue lighting to be rather calming and pleasant.

"Holy crap!" Aoba cried out from his console as he picked up an Angel Alarm. "We've got an... wait, not that can't be right..." he said in confusion.

"What? What is it?" Misato asked him as she rushed over to his station, with Makoto wheeling his chair over as well.

"Well... there was an Angel Alert, and the sensors went nuts, but... it's over," Shigeru relayed in confusion.

"Access some of the aerial drones monitoring the city. See if they can show us anything," Misato said to Hyuga.

"Right on it," Hyuga replied. A few minutes later, footage from an aerial drone was playing over the main screen of the control room. Everyone gasped at the sight of the dead Angel, while even more gasps and shocked murmurs were elicited when the drones showed the giant creepy robot standing next to it while JSSDF personnel move about on the ground by its feet.

Soon, the doors to the control room slid open, and the six pilots entered the room. Shinji looked up at the screen in surprise. "Okay, now  _that_  is a robot," he said in awe, while Rei's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before her.

"Hey... what's with the toy commercial?" Toji asked as he looked at the screen, noticing how Jet Alone looked like something designed to sell toys. Asuka elbowed him in the side. "What?" he asked her in return.

"Misato, what the hell is  _that!?_ " Asuka asked as she stepped over to Misato and glanced at her in confusion. Misato shrugged her shoulders in confusion as her only response.

Mari simply stared at the screen with a look of confusion on her face. "So... I take it we missed the party?" she finally asked.

"They did it. They actually did it," Mana whispered as she looked at the dead Angel next to the robot. "Shit, miracles  _do_  happen," she added in awe.

Staring at the screen, his eyes hidden behind his glasses, and his face hidden behind his gloved hands, Gendo Ikari's jaw had dropped.  _The... Defense Force... killed... an Angel? On their own?_  The sky might as well have been falling at that moment, because everything stopped making sense for Gendo.  _I... may need to re-evaluate my plans considerably_ , he thought to himself as he took in the sight of the dead Angel on the screen.

"Fuyutsuki... please tell Rits-I mean,  _Doctor Akagi_  to join me in my office at eight o'clock tonight. And tell her to bring the good stuff. She'll know what you mean," Gendo said quietly as his brain slowly processed the sheer impossibility of what the footage in front of him was implying. Slowly, he began to shake his head in disbelief.

* * *

**ENDING THEME: Everything You've Ever Dreamed, by ARIANNE**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT TIME**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, as Toji begins his training as an Eva pilot, Asuka begins to re-evaluate her relationship with him as she comes to terms with the feelings that have been growing inside her. Meanwhile, tensions begin to rise between Gendo and SEELE as the mysterious group begins to grow impatient and increasingly frustrated with events occurring differently from how they are described in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

* * *

**SUPER MYSTERY THEATER FUN TIME JET ALONE THEME SONG**

HE HAVE NO DICK, HE MADE OF STEEL

EAT SUSHI SIZE OF WHALE!

JET ALONE? JET ALONE!

HE MOTHER NEVER REALLY LOVE HIM

HE FIGHT MONSTERS TO COVER UP BASIC INSECURITY

HE HAVE SMILE THAT LOOK LIKE JACK NICHOLSON

IT REALLY CREEP EVERYBODY OUT

HE REALLY IS GOOD-HEARTED,

BUT HE ALSO WANT TO CRUSH HUMANITY BENEATH HIS FEET!

STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!

WHERE YOU GO? I DO NOT KNOW!

STOP SMILE LIKE KAWORU, JET ALONE

THAT WHY YOU ARE ALONE!

YAHMMMAHOHAAAOOOHAAAUGH!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Ha! Bet none of ya saw THAT one coming, did ya!? Eh!? Eh!? None of you expected JET ALONE to defeat and Angel, did you!?
> 
> Well, that's why the episode is called A Stopped Clock, because a stopped clock is always right twice a day. This refers to both Tokyo-3 and NERV suffering a blackout AND the JSSDF actually succeeding in killing an Angel for once.
> 
> Anyway, as one reviewer on FFN correctly guessed, Unit 01 has gotten its S2 organ much earlier than expected, although the organ itself is growing very slowly, so it won't be powerful enough to affect major events until much later in the story. Also, Mana is showing herself to be quite the little shit, isn't she?
> 
> And Toji has become a pilot much earlier as well, even though Unit 03 isn't ready yet. What am I doing!? Uh... I'm changing things around.
> 
> Also, I made a small reference to Daria in this chapter, if you know where to look.
> 
> As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of this episode and/or the story so far in your reviews. They're always appreciated, no matter what you say in them!


	13. Girlfriend Of Steel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this episode, Toji begins sync-testing with the Evangelions, Mana forces Rei to contemplate her growing emotions and relationships with the people around her, And Asuka and Toji finally confront their growing feelings toward one another.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

This particular episode is once again a character development episode... mostly. In this episode, Asuka and Toji finally begin coming to terms with the feelings that they've been developing for each other over the months that Asuka's been tutoring Toji, while Rei begins contemplating her various relationships with the staff of NERV and her fellow pilots. Oh, and there might be a subplot about SEELE being unhappy with the completely unexpected victory of JET ALONE over the Angel Matarael, which, let's be honest, none of you saw coming.

Oh, and I may not have mentioned this, but I intentionally left most of the NERV 2nd Branch's staff without many details on their ethnicity so that readers can imagine them however they want, mainly because I had no specifics in mind when writing that episode. However, I probably should have mentioned that Lieutenant Colonel Conrad Barnes is a black man with a mustache, just like Sergeant Apone from  _ALIENS_  (1986), Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson from the  _Halo_  franchise, and Chief Millard Johnson from  _Macross Plus_  (1994 - 1995). Those three men were the main inspiration for the character, and I always imagine Sergeant Johnson's voice when I write Barnes's dialogue.

While writing this I listened to music from  _Trigun OST 1 - 2_  (1998) by Tsuneo Imahori,  _Neon Genesis Evangelion OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu & Masamichi Amano & Yoichi Murata, and  _Evangelion: The Birthday of Rei Ayanami_  (2001) by Shiro Sagisu.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _Trigun OST 1 - 2_  (1998):  _Perfect Night_ ,  _Scattered Rain_ ,  _Lost Planet_ ,  _Philosophy In A Tea Cup_ ,  _People Everyday_ ,  _Not An Angel_ ,  _Stories To Tell_ ,  _Blue Summers_ ,  _Sandy Planet_ ,  _Rakuen (Paradise)._

Music From  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _When I Find Peace Of Mind_ ,  _Ritsuko_ ,  _Misato_ ,  _Eva-02_ ,  _Eva-00_ ,  _Rei I_ ,  _Tokyo-3_ ,  _NERV_ ,  _Eva-01_ ,  _Ikari Shinji_ ,  _Rei II_ ,  _Barefoot In The Park_ ,  _Hedgehog's Dilemma_ ,  _Waking Up In The Morning_ ,  _Background Music I_ ,  _Fly Me To The Moon (Aya Bossa Techno Version)_ ,  _Crime Of Innocence_ ,  _Separation Anxiety_ ,  _Introjection_ ,  _The Heady Feeling Of Freedom_.

Music From  _Evangelion: The Birthday Of Rei Ayanami_  (2001):  _Hostility Restrained_ ,  _Fly Me To The Moon (Ayanami)_  (Performed by Megumi Hayashibara).

Music From  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998):  _B-19 Friendship_ ,  _C-1 Pleasant Morning_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _F2 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Waking Up In The Morning_  (Toji, Asuka, & Mana at NERV HQ),  **02**.  _Fly Me To The Moon (Aya Bossa Techno Version)_  (Toji's sync tests),  **03**.  _Introjection_  (Descent into Terminal Dogma),  **04**.  _Barefoot In The Park_  (United Nations Convention),  **05**.  _Stories To Tell_  (Shinji's Birthday),  **06**.  _The Heady Feeling of Freedom_  (Toji and Asuka's confrontation/Confession),  **07**.  _Eva-01_  (Preparing Unit 04-Alpha for testing),  **08**.  _Hostility Restrained_  (Connection lost).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**09**.  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 13: Girlfriend Of Steel**

* * *

**PREVIOUSLY ON** _**EVANGELION: REWIRED...** _

Misato stepped into Ritsuko's lab with tears streaming down her face, while Ritsuko was busy attaching a prosthetic arm to Cyber-Shinji following his most recent fight with the One-Winged Angel named Sephiroth. "Ritsuko, I need your help!" Misato cried out as she fell to her knees. Ritsuko finished soldering the arm into Shinji's shoulder and turned around, spilling a cup of fruit punch onto him in the process.

"Misato, what's wrong?" Ritsuko asked with heavy concern in her voice.

"Ritsuko, I... I'm PREGNANT!" Misato cried out. Ritsuko gasped. Cyber-Shinji gasped. The Rei clones in the Reiquarium gasped. Mana gasped. Mari and Asuka gasped. Maya gasped. Hiding in the nearby supply closet, Kaji gasped. Several floors above them, in his office where he couldn't possibly have heard this news, Gendo gasped.

"You're... w-what!?" Ritsuko asked.

"Pregnant!" Misato cried out again.

"You're  _PREGNANT!?_  And  _before_  me!? I can't believe this! I've been having unprotected sex with Gendo every other night for the past five years now, and I haven't once missed a period! How the hell are  _you_  pregnant before ME!?" Ritsuko asked indignantly.

"It... it was an accident! I'm pregnant!" Misato cried out again in anguish. "And the father is..."

**AND NOW, THE STUNNING CONCLUSION...**

* * *

**NERV HQ, Sunday Morning, May 10, 2043**

Looking at the ID card in his hand, Toji Suzuhara sighed. Standing next to him, Mana Kirishima and Asuka Langley Sohryu eyed him with different expressions. All three teenagers were wearing casual clothes, with Mana wearing Army fatigues consisting of camo pants and a tan T-shirt, showing off her dog tags, while Asuka wore blue jeans and a red T-shirt. Toji wore blue jeans and a white T-shirt. "Hey, don't be whining about this, Suzuhara-san," Mana said. "Asuka gave you the chance to back out, and you refused. You've got no one to blame but yourself," Mana added.

"I'm not upset about anything," Toji said, "I just... I just kind of find it hard to believe that this is actually happening." Mana raised an eyebrow at him curiously, while Asuka kept her thoughts to herself as a multitude of different emotions ran through her.

Soon, the elevator doors opened and the trio stepped out, making their way to the pilots locker room, where a vacuum sealed pack of new plug suits sat on a bench. "Hey, look at what the techs set out for ya," Mana said as Toji walked over to the plastic packages and opened them to reveal his dark blue and black plug suit. The design vaguely reminded him of the first Angel he had seen the previous year, with pads on the shoulders and four rib-like protrusions, two on each side of the torso.

"We'll be waiting on the other side for you to change," Mana said. She then stopped walking as a thought occurred to her when she noticed Asuka being sluggish. "Unless, of course, you'd like one of us to help you," Mana said mischievously. Asuka's eye widened and she stepped forward, pushing Mana over to the other side of the lockers. "Hey, I was just kidding!" Mana cried out.

"What is your  _problem?_ " Asuka hissed at Mana once they were standing behind the lockers.

" _My_  problem? Please, you're the who's one worried about your boyfriend," Mana retorted.

"He is  _not_  my boyfriend," Asuka shot back at her.

"He might as well be," Mana said in return. "I've seen the way you guys look at each other. You two are about  _this close_  to jumping each other's bones," Mana said as she held up a hand, spacing her thumb and pointer finger apart a certain distance.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Asuka said to her.

"Yes, I do. I know because I've been through it before. Just so you know, the handbook for the Pilot Corps doesn't actually have any rules regarding fraternization, if that's what you're concerned about," Mana said. Asuka raised an eyebrow at her.

"It... it doesn't?" she asked.

"No. I've read it, front to back, over a dozen times at least, and I've never found any sections or articles related to fraternization. So, if you're concerned that you won't be able to get together with him after he becomes a fellow pilot, you've got nothing to worry about," Mana replied. Asuka looked down at the floor in thought.

"There's nothing going on between us, Mana," Asuka finally said, her hands clenched into fists.

"I don't believe you. But... if you order me to drop it, I guess I have no choice. I mean, I'm only trying to help you out here," Mana said, remembering the tension that she and Harold Wagner had gone through after they'd both hit puberty.

"Good. I order you to drop the subject," Asuka said tersely. Mana shrugged her shoulders and sighed while shaking her head at Asuka.

"Affirmative," she said knowingly as she walked around to the other side of the lockers, just in time to see Toji activate the wrist cuff on his suit.

"Whoa!" he said in surprise as the suit shrank itself to conform to his body, showing off his athletic build. "Uh... I don't suppose we get cod pieces for these, do we?" Toji asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Ask Shinji. He'd know... possibly," Mana replied as she leaned against the locker. "So, ready to meet the cyborgs?" she then asked him with a smirk. Toji slowly nodded his head in response.

"Great. Follow me to the holding cages. Hey, Warrant! You gonna join us, or are you gonna just stand back there and stare at the ceiling all day!?" Mana called out to Asuka, who walked out from behind the lockers with a bored expression on her face.

"Let's go meet the meat," Mana said as she gestured for Toji to follow her. Asuka walked up next to Toji and kept pace with him as Mana began showing him around. "Now, this, Toji, is a door. It opens and closes," Mana said humorously.

"Gee, how neat," Toji said sarcastically as he followed Mana through a corridor before she opened another door, leading out to a series of catwalks and walkways with stairs between different levels of walkways, along with ladders going down the side of the wall every few dozen feet. Walking out onto a wide platform walkway, Mana stood in front of a large silver giant.

"Cadet Toji Suzuhara, I'd like you to meet Evangelion Test Model Unit Four-Beta! Made in the USA with state-of-the-art armor restraints and a new hyper-alloy plating system for its shoulder pylons to allow light weight and durability, this is the ultimate Angel-fighting monster! If God is  _love_ , then you can call me  _cupid!_ " Mana boasted with a shit-eating grin.

"Uh... sure," Toji said before he looked up and walked over to another side of the walkway to get a better look at the huge decal on the sides of the pylons. "Is... is dat... is dat what I think it is?" Toji asked as he saw the ANGEL BUSTER logos.

"It sure is, Suzuhara-san! Unit Four-Beta also goes by the nickname of Angel Buster, although... I'm the only one who ever actually calls him that," Mana said.

"Him?" Toji asked her.

"Yeah. This Eva is male, unlike most of the others, which are either female, like Unit One, or asexual, like Unit Zero. Say, you don't really know a whole lot about the Evas, do you?" Mana asked him in response.

"Well... Shin-man told me that they're cyborgs. He told us dat they have flesh and bones and they can bleed and stuff, but he didn't say much beyond that," Toji replied. "Oh, wait! He also said dat he can, like, feel whatever the Eva feels an' stuff," Toji added, remembering the incident with the large pink dildo-looking Angel.

"That's part of the sync ratio," Mana said. "You'll learn more about that once Doctor Akagi gets here. She can give you a more thorough explanation of everything," Mana added. "Although... she should've been over here by now. Where is she?" she asked curiously.

"Doctor Akagi said she had to give Rei an examination today because of a schedule slip-up or something," Asuka said with a shrug. "She shouldn't be too long, though," she added.

"Right," Toji said absentmindedly. "So... which Eva will I be using?" he asked. A thoughtful expression appeared on both Asuka and Mana's faces as they contemplated Toji's question.

"Hm... I guess you'll have to try synchronizing with each one until you get to one that works for you," Mana said. "Oh, that reminds me," she said as she reached into her pockets and pulled out a plastic baggy. "Here are some A-Ten neural connector clips. You'll need them," Mana said as she handed the baggy to Toji.

"What do these do?" he asked her.

"They help you synchronize with the Eva," Asuka said. "Doctor Akagi can explain everything in much greater detail, but just know that without those, you're gonna be having a  _much_  more difficult time synchronizing with any of the Evas," Asuka added.

Toji looked down at the A-10 connectors before glancing back up at Unit 04-Beta. "Uh-huh. Right," he said to himself, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

Soon, the sound of a door opening caught the attention of the three pilots as they turned to see Rei walking out onto a set of stairs, followed by Ritsuko Akagi as they made their way down to their level. "Sorry to have kept you guys waiting," Ritsuko called out as she followed behind Rei, who was wearing khaki pants and a white T-shirt.

"We had an impromptu examination that couldn't wait. We, uh, had a mix up with the schedules following yesterday's power incident, so... anyway, I take it you girls have helped Suzuhara-san familiarize himself with the basics?" Ritsuko asked as she walked up to the trio, stuffing her hands into her lab coat pockets.

"Uh... sorta," Toji replied with a shrug.

"Well, don't worry too much. I'll help you understand the more interesting stuff. Now, since you're already in your plug suit, why don't you put on those neural connectors and hop into Unit Four-Beta?" Ritsuko suggested. Toji glanced up at the helmeted head of the Evangelion before looking back down at the A-10 clips in the baggy.

"Uh... how do I put these on?" Toji asked curiously.

* * *

**Inside Unit 04-Beta's Entry Plug, Thirty Minutes Later...**

Looking around at the screen surrounding him, and gently tugging on the straps of the safety harness connected to the pilot seat, Toji allowed himself to relax. Having his lungs filled with a strange fluid had been a rather terrifying experience, but after realizing that he could breathe the liquid, he was able to calm down. " _You're doing good, Suzuhara-san_ ," the voice of Maya Ibuki called out over the com.

"Uh... thanks?" Toji managed to squeak out. " _Just another forty minutes to go, and your first sync test will be complete. When Ikari-kun first got into Unit One, we didn't even have time for a test_ ," Maya replayed.

"Uh, yeah... I think he told me about dat once," Toji said. He was still slightly bothered by the LCL, which tasted like blood.  _Why does it taste like dis? Why can't it be, like, orange flavored or something? Huh? It's like I'm breathing in the Eva's blood or somethin',_  Toji thought to himself, unaware of just how close he was to the truth.

**Inside the Observation Room...**

"He's holding a sync rate of thirty-four percent," Ritsuko noted as she looked at the monitor.

"Well, it's above the borderline, so... I guess Unit Four-Beta really is a one-size-fits-all Unit," Maya replied with a smile.

"Actually, he  _could_  get a higher sync rate, but Daddy doesn't like strange boys being in his daughter's room," Mana said humorously, causing Ritsuko to raise an eyebrow.

Asuka and Rei both looked at Mana curiously, before Asuka simply shrugged her shoulders, while Rei had a thoughtful expression on her face, before she shared a glance with Ritsuko.

_Daddy... does she know? No, that information is kept secret from the pilots. Then again, I was told that practically everyone at 2nd Branch referred to Four-Beta as male. But... Gendo did say that Kirishima might know more than she lets on at times. The question is just how much more does she know?_

* * *

**One Hour Later, In The Entry Plug of Unit 02...**

Toji looked at the controls in front of him. The layout of Unit 02's entry plug was similar to that of Unit 04-Beta, but without some of the additional waterproof keyboards and redundant control mechanisms. The pilot seat also lacked a safety harness, relying solely on the LCL in the plug for inertial dampening. It also lacked many of the numerous compartments lining the ceiling that were found in Unit 04-Beta's entry plug as well.

 _Production model my ass! There's no fuckin' seat belt or anything_ , Toji thought to himself worriedly.

**Inside The Observation Room...**

"He's holding at forty percent," Maya said with a smile. Ritsuko nodded her head in affirmation.

"Good. Let's keep him in there another forty minutes and make sure it stay that way," Ritsuko said.

"Heh. I guess Mommy likes your boyfriend," Mana teased Asuka, who scowled at her in response, causing Ritsuko to raise her eyebrow again.

"First of all, he's not my boyfriend. Second, I  _ordered_  you  _drop the subject_ ," Asuka spat at Mana with narrowed eyes. Mana simply shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Wait... is there some kind of relationship going on between you and Cadet Suzuhara, Sohryu-san?" Ritsuko asked the half-German red-head. Maya and Rei both turned their heads to observe Asuka's reaction.

"I'm tutoring him on his math homework, and we're friends. But there's nothing romantic or sexual going on between us, despite what  _someone_  might think," Asuka replied, glaring at Mana. Mana looked away and whistled "innocently" in response.

Ritsuko furrowed her brows in contemplation. "I see. Well then... Kirishima-san? If Warrant Officer Sohryu orders you to drop this subject, I would advise following those orders," Ritsuko finally said, hoping to avoid hearing the two girls argue while in the room with her.

"Si, Seniorita! Si!" Mana replied a resigned smile on her face.

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "S-Sin... yor... rita?" she asked awkwardly. Despite her proud intellect, genius, and ability to fluently speak Japanese, English, and even German, Ritsuko Akagi was rather unfamiliar with the Spanish language.

"¡Sí! ¡Seniorita es español!" Mana replied. Everyone in the room just slowly nodded their heads at the American girl. Mana then resumed speaking in Japanese. "I have Unit Four-Beta set to accept at least ten different primary language options for efficient switch-overs in an emergency, although I can only speak three of them fluently," Mana said.

* * *

**Inside The Entry Plug of Unit 01, One Hour Later...**

"Well, here I am again," Toji mumbled, remembering the time that Shinji been forced to bring him and Kensuke into the entry plug in order to save their asses from an Angel. The entry plug's interior was almost identical to that of Unit 02. " _Again? Oh, that's right! I forgot about that time when... uh, never mind. So, how are you feeling in there?_ " Maya asked over the com.

"It's... it's okay," Toji replied. "It ain't dat different from Unit Two, to be honest. Hell, I'd almost think I was in the same Eva if it weren't for the numbers printed on the ceiling and the back of dis seat... column... thing," Toji replied.

" _Well, Unit One is very close to most Production Models in many ways. So, just relax and sit back for the next hour as we test your synchronization with Unit One_ ," Maya replied over the com.

**Inside The Observation Room Again...**

"He's holding steady at forty-five percent," Maya relayed.

"Thufferin' thuccotath! He'th unthtoppable!" Mana exclaimed in English with a cheeky grin on her face. Everyone looked at her in bewilderment. "What?" Mana asked them, returning to speaking Japanese once more.

"Anyway," Maya said as she returned her attention to the monitor in front of her, "I wonder if Unit One is just the easiest Eva to synchronize with or if Suzuhara-san's sync rate is simply increasing with each Eva he gets into?" she asked rhetorically.

"That's a good question. We'll have to find out during the next cross-synchronization test. But that won't be until Thursday afternoon. We'll keep records of each test for the next month to see what patterns emerge," Ritsuko said.

"Just wait until he gets to Unit Zero," Mana said as she spun herself around in a chair. "That thing will probably give him less than two percent! Hell, even after the cross-syncing I've done with it, I  _still_  can't get anything above twenty-percent," Mana continued. "That thing's really finicky," she added.

Asuka found herself nodding her head in agreement with Mana for once. "Yeah, you're right about  _that_. Even  _I_  have trouble trying to synchronize with Unit Zero," Asuka admitted as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

Sitting nearby while sipping a small box of fruit juice, Rei nodded her head in agreement before speaking up. "I must concur. Unit Zero is quite difficult to synchronize with at times," Rei said. She then resumed sipping her fruit juice.

 _Yeah_ , Mana thought,  _I wonder whose soul they stuck inside that one? Rei's file listed her as being an orphan, but... I know there's got to be more to her than just that. Her hair and eyes are even listed as natural. Blue hair ain't natural! Something's up with that girl... and I'll find out what it is eventually_.

* * *

**The Entry Plug Of Unit 05, One Hour Later...**

Toji sat back and twiddled his thumbs as he breathed in the LCL. "Feels just like Two and One," he said as he looked around, noticing just how similar the interior was to the other units' entry plugs, aside from the numbers 05 being printed on the ceiling and seat column.

" _You're doing okay in this one, Suzuhara-san. Just remain calm and give us another hour with this one. After this, you'll try to sync with Unit Zero, and then you can go home_ ," Maya said over the com.

"Uh, sure. I-I mean, affirmative," Toji replied over the com.

**Back In The Observation Room...**

Ritsuko frowned as she looked at the data in front of her. "He's holding at twenty-six percent, just above the borderline," Ritsuko muttered. Sitting down next to her, Maya nodded her head with a frown.

"There are no signs of any improvement," Maya said with a sigh. "I guess Unit Five just isn't very compatible with him. He's above the borderline, but not by much," she added.

"I can only imagine how low he's going to get with Unit Zero," Ritsuko said.

"In the negatives, probably," Mana joked. Asuka shot a scowl her way, while Rei remained silent in her seat. "I'm just sayin'. You know how finicky it is," she added.

* * *

**Inside The Entry Plug Of Unit 00, One Hour Later...**

Toji shifted uncomfortably in the pilot seat of the prototype Eva. As with the other units, it had no seat belts or inertial dampening systems of any kind other than the LCL that filled it. Toji found this quite worrisome. "Uh, hey? How come you guys don't have seat belts or nothin' in these things?" Toji asked over the com.

" _The LCL acts as a buffer to keep the pilot cushioned and safe_ ," Maya replied over the com, before Mana's voice broke in over it.

" _Because safety measures are too expensive for a high-grade world-saving cyborg!_ " Mana quipped sarcastically over the com. " _Although, if you're worried about safety, you can always ride in my Eva with me. I'll even share the harness with you_ ," Mana teased over the com.

" _Mana, get over here!_ " Asuka's voice could be heard before a scuffling sound made its way over the com.

" _Uh, sorry about that_ ," Maya apologized over the com. " _Anyway, just stay in there for another forty minutes, and then you'll be free to go_ ," Maya said.

"Yeah, I hear ya," Toji said drolly.

**Once More In The Observation Room...**

Rei watched as Ritsuko held Mana and Asuka apart from each other. "Now, I don't know what's going on here, but you two need to cool down!" Ritsuko snapped at the two red-heads. Rei rose from her seat and walked over to them.

"Doctor Akagi, if I may? I wish to show something important to Corporal Kirishima," Rei requested. Ritsuko nodded her head, having been told by Gendo of his plan to curb Mana's curiosity.

"Very well. I think it's best if these two remain separated for the time being anyway," Ritsuko said as she shoved Mana in Rei's direction.

"Sure, I know when I'm not wanted," Mana said as she trudged over to the door, quickly followed by Rei. Letting the blue-haired girl catch up with her, Mana walked out of the room.

"Finally," Ritsuko let out. "Now maybe we can have some peace and quiet," she added as she looked over at Asuka, who had her arms crossed while she leaned back against a console.

Meanwhile, in the corridor, Mana followed Rei as she took a left turn. "So, what is it you plan on showing me?" Mana asked the girl. Rei glanced back at Mana with a knowing look on her face. "The silent treatment, eh? Fine, I'll wait until we get there," Mana replied.

After several more minutes of walking in silence, the duo reached a specially marked elevator, which Rei opened by entering a special access code into the panel next to it. Rei stepped inside and gestured for Mana to join her. Mana quickly stepped inside before the door closed.

The two girls remained silent as the elevator descended, with Mana noticing that the number of floors listed on this elevator was far greater than those on others in the facility. "Ayanami-san... where are we going?" Mana asked the other girl curiously. Rei looked over at her with an odd expression.

"Corporal Kirishima, I have grown tired of you following me around in various attempts to access restricted areas lately," Rei said with a frown. Mana's eyes narrowed at Rei in response, her mind immediately jumping to the worst possible conclusions.

"So... are you planning to kill me?" Mana asked her, slowly reaching a hand down behind her back and towards the small knife she kept strapped to her right ankle under her pants.

"No. I simply plan to give you that which you seek. I hope that by doing so, you will stop attempting to enter otherwise restricted areas of NERV HQ with me," Rei said, causing Mana to halt in her actions and slowly bring her hand back up to where Rei could see it.

"And what exactly do you think I'm looking for?" Mana asked Rei carefully.

"Terminal Dogma," was Rei's response. "You wish to see what is locked inside of it, for you believe it holds the answers to whatever questions you are asking," Rei added.

"Well... you're not exactly wrong," Mana admitted. "But why not just tell me what's in there? Why go through the trouble of taking me down there?" Mana asked.

"Because if I tell you, there is no guarantee that you will believe me, and you may still attempt to gain access again in the future. By showing you, I will know that you will no longer desire to follow me around, and I will no longer need to look over my shoulders to see if I am being followed," Rei explained.

"Like a parent giving their kid a toy to make them shut up," Mana said with a chuckle. "I have to say, I'm impressed. However, since we're both the same rank, you can just call me by my last name, Ayanami-san," Mana added.

"Very well, Kirishima," Rei replied, nodding her head.

"Of course, I'm still curious about other things in this place," Mana said. "For instance... you. How long have you been here at NERV?" Mana asked Rei.

"I have been here for several hours today," Rei replied.

Mana snorted indignantly in response. "No, I meant how long have you been  _working_  for NERV? How long have you lived in Tokyo Three? How long have you known Commander Ikari and the other staff?" Mana elaborated.

"I have known Commander Ikari since I was the age of... five? No, seven, I believe," Rei said, slightly unsure of the exact age she had been. She wasn't even sure of how old Rei-I had been when she had first met GEHIRN's staff, but she knew that Rei-I had been at least five years old at minimum before her death. Commander Ikari and Doctor Akagi had both told her so themselves.

"What about your parents? I mean, you might be an orphan, as stated by your official file, but... come on, you must have  _some_  memory of your family before being found by Commander Ikari, right?" Mana asked her as the elevator continued its descent.

"It was... a long time ago. I do not remember them," Rei replied. She couldn't recall any of Rei-I's memories regarding her biological parents, no matter how hard she'd tried over the years. Despite being able to bring back bits and pieces of Rei-I's memories regarding her first interactions with Gendo and Ritsuko, she could never recollect anything prior to that time period. It was as if Rei-I hadn't even existed prior to meeting Ritsuko in her lab for the first time. But Rei-I had to have existed before that. Ritsuko and Gendo had both told her so, and they would never lie to her... would they?

 _No. No, they would not lie to me. They have never led me astray... knowingly_ , Rei thought to herself.

"Interesting," Mana said suspiciously. "So, how long have you lived in Tokyo Three?" Mana asked Rei again.

"I have lived here for as long as I can remember," Rei replied.

"Okay. So, your file lists those eyes and hair as being natural. Blue isn't a natural hair color," Mana said. Rei turned to look the other girl in the eyes.

"Tell me, Ayanami-san... who are you, really?" Mana asked her as she leaned in closer to the blue-haired girl. "Where do you actually come from?" she added.

"What is your clearance level?" Rei asked her coldly.

Mana smirked in return. "You're already showing me what's in Terminal Dogma, Ayanami-san. I don't see the harm in tell me more," Mana replied.

Rei glanced away from the girl as she contemplated what to do next. "I have no memory of my biological parents. I have little memory of anything prior to being in Tokyo Three or NERV, back when it was still GEHIRN. The reason for this is... I... I... I am..." Rei hesitated, before she forced herself to picture Shinji standing in place of Mana.

"I am a clone of the original Ayanami Rei. She was a girl who died at a very young age, and I am her replacement," Rei said.

Mana's eyes widened in surprise at this revelation. "Holy shit. That explains... quite a lot, actually. Your hair and eye color are that way because of something in the cloning process, aren't they?" Mana asked Rei.

"Yes. Doctor Akagi and Commander Ikari have both told me such. The original Ayanami Rei, or Rei-One, if you'd prefer, died around the age of five years old in an accident shortly after being brought here to Tokyo Three. I... am Rei-Two. I am the first in a series of clones made to replace her," Rei continued, causing Mana's jaw to lower as she took everything in.

"I see. Cloning entire organisms is still illegal, though. That's why your file is so... unusual. It all makes sense now," Mana said softly.

"I have answered your queries, Kirishima. Now I wish to ask one of my own," Rei said. Mana nodded her head in return. "Why do you wish to know so much about NERV and its inner workings?" Rei asked the red-head.

"When I was five years old, I watched my father turn into a puddle of orange goo through a video monitor while he was in Unit Four-Beta. I watched my own father die in front of me, Ayanami-san. Before he went in, though, he told me that he would always be with me, even if I couldn't see him," Mana explained. "I didn't know what he meant at the time, but after a while, it started to become clear to me. But even now, I still have questions. I want to know why my father had to die, along with the mothers of all the other pilots," Mana said with a frown and furrowed brows.

"I want to know why we all had to have our families torn apart for this project. I want to know just how far this all goes. I want to know  _why_ , Ayanami-san. I just want to know the truth, no matter how ugly it may be," Mana finished.

Rei let out a sigh and nodded her head in understanding. "I understand now. Most of the other pilots do not seem to express much interest in learning about the Evas," Rei stated. "The only pilot, aside from you, who I have even told about my nature as a clone, is Shinji," Rei said.

Mana raised an eyebrow, both at Rei's mention of Shinji  _and_  the fact that she used the boy's first name.  _Well, she does live with him, but... I wonder if there's more going on between them than that? They don't seem to display any outward affection, but... neither of them seem like the type to make public displays anyway_ , Mana thought to herself.

"So... why does Ikari-kun know about you being a clone?" Mana asked Rei.

"We... had an altercation prior to the defeat of the Fifth Angel, Ramiel. It was shortly after I had then-Captain Katsuragi bring Shinji down to Terminal Dogma to show him what was held within, as he needed incentive to stay and fight," Rei said.

"The Fifth? Oh, I read the report on the flight here. Ikari-kun was boiled alive in his entry plug. No wonder he wanted to run away," Mana said.

Rei nodded her head. "Yes, while his desire to flee from danger was understandable, the fact remained that he had a responsibility to uphold. In order to make him truly understand the danger posed by the Angels, I allowed him to enter Terminal Dogma with Katsuragi. It was after showing him the contents of Terminal Dogma that he finally understood why it was so important for him to stay and fight the Angels," Rei explained.

"However, our altercation took place just prior to entering the Evas, as he asked me if I was afraid of fighting the Angel while knowing of its capabilities. I told him that while I was afraid, I could be replaced, which led to him questioning me. I soon had to inform him of my true nature, which led to him slapping me before telling me that being a clone doesn't mean I should willingly put myself in a position to die," Rei said.

Mana's eyes widened in shock. "Wait a minute! Ikari-kun...  _slapped you!?_ " Mana asked her in shock.

Rei nodded her head in confirmation. "Yes. Just as I had slapped him hours earlier when he declared his desire to run away, he slapped me when I informed him of how my death would be of no consequence due to my nature as a clone," Rei explained.

Mana stared at Rei silently for a minute. " _Wow_ ," Mana said softly. "This place...  _really_  has a way of fucking people up," she added. "So... if you die, how does the next clone get... activated, or whatever?" Mana asked Rei curiously.

"The soul of this body will get transferred into the next one. However, pending how much time passes between memory uploads, there's no way of knowing how much of my current personality and memories will remain intact," Rei replied.

"I see," Mana said, just as the light on the panel lit up the final floor number. The doors soon opened, and Mana followed Rei out into the hallway, with Mana noticing a few GEHIRN logos still in place here and there. "I take it nobody much comes down here, eh?" Mana asked Rei, who simply nodded her head in return.

Soon, after several more minutes of walking, the duo arrived at a huge set of doors. Rei walked up to the control panel next to one of them and entered her personal access code, causing the doors to slide open with a hiss. Mana stood back as the doors opened to reveal a gigantic chamber, filled with what looked like a lake of LCL as she and Rei walked out onto a cement pier or walkway, where a boat was anchored next to a small ladder. Hugging the perimeter of the chamber's walls were several catwalks leading to different windows and doors located on various levels in the chamber.

But what caught Mana's attention the most was the giant white figure crucified in the center of the chamber, with large tubes and pumps jammed into its back, and a purple mask with seven eye holes on the face. "Is... is that... Adam?" Mana asked Rei.

"Negative. This is Lilith," Rei corrected her.

"Lilith? So this is what Barnes was talking about," Mana said softly.

"Kirishima, are aware of how the Evangelions are created?" Rei asked the girl. Mana nodded her head in response.

"Y-Yeah. They're cloned from the flesh of Adam, aren't they?" Mana replied.

"That is correct... for all but three of them," Rei said. "Unit One, Unit Four-Alpha, and Unit Four-Beta are all made from the flesh of Lilith, while all other Evas are made from the flesh of Adam," Rei explained to her. Mana slowly nodded her head as she took in the size of Lilith. However, something else struck Mana as interesting about the white giant.

In the center of the Angel's torso was a giant red two-pronged spear. "Is that... the Lance of Longinus?" Mana asked Rei curiously.

Rei glanced at Mana before nodding her head. "Yes. I placed it there myself with Unit Zero shortly after your arrival," Rei said in response.

"The Lance... why is it impaled in Lilith?" Mana asked Rei.

"Commander Ikari ordered me to do so. I did not question him," Rei replied.

"Have you  _ever_  questioned him?" Mana asked Rei.

Rei shook her head. "No. I have never knowingly disobeyed Commander Ikari. I have been raised to always obey him and follow his instructions. I have never had a reason to do otherwise," Rei said.

"Really? What if he were to... I dunno, order you to kill someone? Would you do it?" Mana asked Rei, trying to gauge her reaction.

"I... do not know. He has never asked that of me before. If the person were a threat to NERV and the Commander, I would probably do so if he gave me the order," Rei said contemplatively.

"What if he were to order you to kill Ikari-kun, and by that, I mean  _Shinji-kun?_ " Mana asked Rei, which caused the blue-haired girl to pause. A thoughtful expression appeared on Rei's face, before a panicked expression took over.

"I... I... I... I..." Rei stammered, hesitating as she tried to figure out what she would really do in such a situation. "I... do not know," Rei said worriedly. She had never contemplated disobeying Commander Ikari before, and right now the very thought was giving her a headache, not to mention a dry throat as a strange stinging sensation began to grow in her eyes.

"I... I have never... why... why would you ask me this?" Rei asked Mana in confusion and panic. Mana studied Rei's response as the girl's poise began to crumble.  _Because you're almost seventeen years old, and you need to learn how it feels to live in the real world. That means thinking about things that make you uncomfortable, sweetheart_ , Mana thought to herself.

"Tell me, Ayanami-san. If Commander Ikari were to order you to kill his son, would you obey him or would you choose to save Shinji-kun? Which would you choose, Rei? Commander Ikari... or Shinji?" Mana asked her bluntly.

Rei felt a wave of panic flow through her as the strangest feeling in her heart began to overwhelm her. "I... I... I..." Tears began to stream down her face as she wracked her brain for an answer. "I don't... I... I've n-never..." Rei soon fell to her knees on the floor and hugged herself as the tears flowed down her cheek and dripped onto her floor below.

 _Aw shit_ , Mana thought to herself.  _I didn't mean to make her_ _ **cry**_ , she thought to herself with a small amount of shame. Mana soon knelt down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Ayanami-san, I'm sorry, but... I think you might need this," Mana said to the crying girl. Rei looked up at her, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to make a decision. "You don't need to give me an answer right now, Rei. But if you ever find yourself in a situation like the one I've presented to you... well, you need to learn how to think for yourself," Mana said.

Despite being raised in a military type culture, Mana absolutely despised the blind obedience that so many seemed to expect. She understood the necessity for following orders on the battlefield, but the idea of someone refusing and not even knowing how to think freely was absolutely appalling to her. "Now... let's get out of here and go get something to eat. I've gotten all the answers I've needed from you today," Mana said as she helped the girl rise to her feet.

Rei tried to even out her breathing. "W-Why... are you helping m-me? You have... g-gotten all th-that you n-need from me," Rei asked Mana in confusion. When something had fulfilled its purpose, it was to be discarded. That was what Commander Ikari had taught her.

"You think I'm just gonna toss you away because I've gotten what I wanted from you? What kind of...  _friend_  would I be if I did that?" Mana asked her in response.

"W-We are... f-friends?" Rei asked her, still trying to control her breathing.

"Well... I'm hoping we can be, from this point forward anyway," Mana replied as she looked Rei in the eyes. "Whaddya say?" Mana asked the bluenette. Rei looked at her in confusion.

"I... this is still very new to me. O-Only... Shinji... has ever told me that I... I am his friend," Rei said. Mana thought about this for a minute.

"Well, now you've got another friend," Mana said with a forced smile. In truth, after everything that she'd learned so far today, she didn't really feel much like smiling, but she forced herself to do so anyway for Rei's benefit. "So, you wanna go hit the mall or something? Maybe stop at the food court or the arcade? Just the two of us girls? Or... maybe you'd like to invite Ikari-kun along as well?" Mana asked Rei, watching to see her reaction.

"I... I think... I'd like that," Rei said with a sniffle as a small smile formed on her face. Mana nodded her head in return. "I... w-would enjoy... spending time with Shinji," Rei said, that small smile spreading as a tiny blush rose to her cheeks, confirming Mana's suspicions.

"All right then. Let's get out of here and grab Ikari-kun. I think the mall should still be open for a few more hours," Mana said as she helped Rei walk out of Terminal Dogma, the bluenette letting Mana keep her hand on her back as the large doors closed behind them.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Main Convention Center, Wednesday, May 13, 2043**

Standing in the main lobby of the convention center, Misato Katsuragi frowned as she saw the numerous officials from the JSSDF and the United Nations milling about. Standing next to her, Ryoji Kaji sipped a small cup of punch. "Hey, why so glum?" Kaji asked Misato as he noticed her frown.

"I just don't wanna be here right now. Look at all of these people, congratulation themselves over a mere fluke!" Misato hissed. Kaji simply rolled his eyes at her and sipped his punch once more.

"Let them have their victory, Misato," Kaji said. "I mean, it's not every day that the Defense Force can actually claim to have killed an Angel on their own," he added with a knowing smile.

Misato huffed before letting out a sigh. "Fine," she said reluctantly. "I just hope the U.N. doesn't decide to start cutting our budget because of this," she said with a frown.

Glancing over towards a corner, Kaji saw one of his contacts mingling with a JSSDF officer. He kept his eyes in their general direction as he waited for an opportunity to go speak with them. Meanwhile, Misato was busy downing a cup of punch as though it were a shot of whiskey.

"Uh, Misato? Maybe you should just give yourself a chance to breathe," Kaji suggested. "By the way, how are Shinji and Rei doing under your care?" Kaji asked her in an attempt to get her to think about something that wasn't work-related.

"Huh? Oh, they're fine. I think Rei might have a crush on Shinji, but I can't be too sure with her. I know Shinji has a crush on her, though. I've seen the way he looks at her when he thinks no one is looking, and lately I've observed him trying to cook vegetable kebabs for Rei," Misato said.

"Vegetable kebabs?" Kaji asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. There's this vegetable grill at the food court in the mall that Rei likes, and she's really fond of these grilled vegetable kebabs they make," Misato explained. "So... Shinji's been trying to make them at home for Rei. I think it's kind of cute and romantic," Misato said with a smile.

"So, how are the, uh, girls doing under your care?" Misato then asked Kaji.

Kaji rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "Ah, yes, my surrogate daughters. Pains in the ass, but I love them," Kaji said with a genuine smile. "Well... to be honest, Asuka's been spending less time at home than she did when we first got here, so I haven't seen her as much as I've seen Mari. Apparently she's still tutoring that Suzuhara boy. Either Asuka's a terrible teacher, or that boy is deliberately doing bad to keep seeing her," Kaji said, a slight hint of protectiveness entering his voice.

"Hm, you should hear the way you sound right now," Misato said with a giggle. "So, what about Kirishima-san? I know that she lives in her own separate apartment, and I've been there twice now, but you're supposed to be her official guardian, so I'm hoping that you know more than I do," Misato requested.

"Well, Mana seems to keep to herself a lot of the time, although when I do check up on her, she's usually watching a movie or doing one of those video calls with her friends and family back home," Kaji said.

"Yeah, I think she misses them," Misato said, nodding her head.

"I don't doubt it," Kaji said in agreement. "Although... I am kind of worried that she might be shutting herself in a bit too much," Kaji said with a slight frown as he occasionally glanced over at his contact, who was now mingling with another JSSDF official. "She's one of the few pilots who's  _father_  was... well, you know, instead of her mother. I think it kind of makes her feel a bit... isolated from everyone else at times," Kaji said thoughtfully.

"Well... maybe I'll invite her over to my apartment once in a while to spend time with Shinji and Rei. Let her know that she isn't alone here. I know she spent time with Rei and Shinji on Sunday, but I think it would be healthy for her to get out  _more often_  instead of just once in a while," Misato said.

Kaji nodded his head in response. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea," he said. Having recently learned about Mana's descent into Terminal Dogma, he could only imagine what the girl might do with herself now that she no longer had any mysteries to uncover. He'd gone through the same dilemma after being shown Lilith in Terminal Dogma, since he now pretty much only had to keep tabs on Gendo for SEELE and vice versa. Of course, with he and Mana both being secret informants for Lieutenant Colonel Barnes, Kaji knew almost as much as Mana did regarding her own discoveries. Still, with the most mysterious element of NERV being known to Mana now, that meant the girl had a lot more free time on her hands.

"Yeah. I really think you should go for that," Kaji said to Misato. "Hell, maybe even invite Hyuga over once in a while," he added, watching with a smirk as Misato got flustered with a blush rising to her cheeks.  _Bingo_ , he thought.  _I knew it! Mana was right; teasing people like this_ **is** _fun! Although, I should keep myself from going overboard, just to be safe_ , Kaji thought to himself.  _Don't wanna cause a scene or tease the wrong person_.

Kaji soon saw that his contact was now free, and they were looking right at him. Kaji subtly nodded his head before deciding to tease Misato once more, just to give himself an excuse to walk away from her. "Well, just make sure that you and Hyuga don't set a bad example in front of the pilots when he's at your place.  I've seen you staring at his butt when you think no one is looking," Kaji said knowingly with a smile.

"W-Why you!" Misato muttered with a twitching eye. "I-I do _not!_  Th-There's nothing going on between us," she muttered in obvious denial.  _She acts like such a kid sometimes_ , Kaji thought to himself.

"If you say so. Anyway, before you decide to dunk my head into the punch bowl, I think I'll leave you alone to cool off," Kaji said with a smirk as he walked away, making sure to head away from his contact before slowly walking around the various throngs of people in the room, eventually meeting up with the man over by an alcove near a large fan to make anything they said difficult for eavesdroppers to understand.

* * *

**Mana's Apartment, The Pilots Apartment Complex, Tokyo-3, Saturday Evening, June 06, 2043**

"So, how does it feel to be seventeen years old,  _Mister_  Ikari?" Mana teased Shinji as she held out a paper cup full of fruit punch to the boy. The pilots were currently having a small celebration for Shinji, who didn't care much for big parties, in Mana's apartment, since she had the biggest TV and a set of multiple media players, all of which she had smuggled into Japan using her Eva's armor compartments.

"Uh... well, I don't feel all that different," Shinji replied as he took the cup and sipped it. Rei walked over to him and smiled as she took a sip of her own fruit punch cup, glancing briefly at Mana with a nod of her head. "In fact, I feel pretty much the same as I did when I was sixteen," Shinji added.

"No? No feelings of 'getting too old for this shit' just yet?" Mana asked him, referencing one of her favorite action film series from the 20th century. Her father had been a big action film enthusiast before his absorption into Unit 04-Beta, and he had introduced Mana to a number of films and TV shows by virtue of leaving a large collection of them behind for her, although some of them had been marked for her to only be allowed to watch after she'd turned 13 years old, for reasons that Mana wouldn't understand until she finally sat down and watched them.

"Um... no, not really. Unless you're referring to piloting an Eva, but I think that's more along the lines of... being too  _young_ , rather than being too old," Shinji replied. "I still don't understand why only teenagers can pilot those things. No matter how many times Doctor Akagi explains it to me, it all just goes right over my head," he added, slowly shaking his head.

"So, since you're the birthday boy, what movie in my collection do you wanna watch?" Mana asked Shinji as she sauntered over to a cabinet next to the TV with several dozen DVDs and Blu-Rays. Standing next to Shinji, Rei furrowed her brows in contemplation.

"That is... quite an assortment of home media," Rei said, very slightly impressed. Granted, she owned almost no films or TV shows of her own, given that she preferred reading books, but the size of what Mana had managed to smuggle into Japan with her was quite impressive in its own right.

Walking over to look over Mana's shoulders, Misato grinned. "Ooh! That looks familiar," Misato said before she took a bite out of her pizza slice. Soon, Kensuke Aida had made his way over as well, looking in awe at Mana's collection.

"Damn, look at all of this!" Kensuke exclaimed as he read the titles on the spines of the DVD and Blu-Ray cases.

Mana smiled in appreciation at Kensuke's awe, before she looked over at Shinji. "Hey, Ikari-kun! Come over here and choose something," Mana said. "You're the birthday boy, so it's your choice," Mana added as she gestured for the boy to make his way over to the cabinet.

Shinji sighed as he knelt down in front of the open cabinet. "Um... you know, it really doesn't matter to me what we watch," Shinji said.

"Nonsense! Today's your birthday, so go ahead and choose. Any movie you want," Mana said with a grin.

Shinji shook his head with a smile. "Well, if you insist," he said.

"I do," Mana replied, still grinning.

Shinji reached forward and began sifting through the cabinet shelves, pulling out a movie and looking at the cover before putting it back. Soon, he decided to just pick one at random, grabbing a blue case and pulling it out. "Uh, here," he said as he handed the Blu-Ray to Mana.

"Good choice," Mana said with a grin as she looked at the eyeless phallic monster gracing the cover. "Very good choice," she added. "Okay boys and girls, grab some pizza slices and find a place to sit. Ikari-kun's chosen a movie for us to watch, and it's a roller coaster ride," Mana announced with a grin as she began setting up the Blu-Ray player and her TV.

Kensuke, Hikari Horaki, Toji, Asuka, Mari, Mayumi Yamagishi, Shinji, Rei, Misato, and Mana were soon sitting down around the couch and coffee table as the lights were dimmed and the movie began to play. Mana glanced around the room, wondering if any of these other kids had ever seen this film before. She guess it was possible that Mari or Asuka might have seen it, but she wasn't so sure about the others, although Kensuke was a likely candidate. The movie did have a lot of scifi military stuff in it, and that boy loved him some military stuff.

All throughout the movie, Mana silently quoted every line as the story unfolded, while the Japanese subtitles played along with the dialogue on the bottom of the screen.

" _Hey, Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?_ "

" _No. Have you?_ "

Mana grinned as the movie continued, a giddy feeling welling up inside of her when the music kicked in during Ripley's rescue of the Marines in the alien hive. 'Drake, we are  _LEAVING!_ ' Mana mouthed along with Hicks.

After the dropship crashed, Mana glanced around at the faces of her fellow pilots and friends, noticing how engrossed they were in the movie.  _Oh yeah, now you guys know what a good movie looks like_ , Mana thought to herself before she returned her attention to the screen.

As the movie continued, Mana continued silently quoting the movie. Eventually, when the power went out in the colony, Mana felt that giddiness return as she knew what to expect, while the others around her felt a sense of unease as they watched with rapt attention as the beeps on Private Hudson's motion tracker became higher pitched.

Shinji felt himself taken slightly out of the movie when he felt a soft set of fingers grab his left hand. He glanced over and saw Rei with an odd expression on her face as she watched the movie, before he rolled his hand over so that their palms were touching. He then gave Rei's hand a slight squeeze to reassure her, and Shinji noticed the tiniest hints of a smile forming on her face.

" _Five meters... four! What the hell!?_ " the Marine asked in a panic before the survivors all looked up at the ceiling of the operations center. The music began to build, and a smile spread on Mana's face as she watched Hicks step onto a ladder and push a ceiling tile up with his pulse rifle.  _Aaaaaannnndddd... yes!_

Mana watched with giddy excitement as the battle in operations began, with the aliens dropping from the ceiling as the Marines, Ripley, Newt, and Burke all tried to escape.

" _Do something, Gorman!_ " Burke shouted as he ran away. It was at this moment that Mana finally noticed that those were the last words uttered by Burke for the rest of the movie.  _Huh. I just noticed that now of all times_ , Mana thought curiously before returning her focus to the movie.

As the battle wore on, and the Marines were picked off as they entered the ventilation shafts to escape, the teenagers in the room felt a rush of adrenaline flowing through them as the music, dialogue, action, and choreography all came together for one of the best climaxes of any movie they'd ever seen in their lives.

And then, finally, when Ripley began destroying the nest, Mana grinned, as did Kensuke, she noticed. Kensuke had one of the biggest grins on his face that Mana had ever seen, and as the climax continued, Mana knew exactly why. She stayed silent as she watched Ripley carry Newt over to the elevators, before being dissuaded from the ladder by the approaching queen.

And then, as Ripley and Newt reached the top of the lift and stepped out onto the empty platform, Mana noticed the expressions of fear and worry on her friends' faces as they wondered how Ripley and Newt would escape. Once the elevator doors opened and the music played again, their expressions changed to those of joy and elation when the dropship returned.

" _Punch it, Bishop!_ " Ripley exclaimed.

Mana grinned as she quietly hummed the music playing in the background of the scene, until the dropship escaped the planetoid and the explosion of the atmosphere processor. As the film became calm once more, Mana watched as her friends all wore expressions of relief as they believed the film to be almost over.  _Heh, not quite_ , Mana thought to herself with a knowing smile.

And then Bishop was ripped in half, causing Mana's companions, minus Kensuke, to gasp in shock.  _Okay, so this really is the first time most of them have seen this movie_ , Mana realized.

And then, Mana had to restrain herself as the most quotable line of the movie came up. She bit her lips to keep herself from saying it out loud and distracting her friends from the movie.

" _Get away from her, you BITCH!_ " Ripley spat at the alien queen.

Mana squealed in delight from her spot on the floor as she held two triumphant fists in the air, grinning from cheek to cheek. She loved this movie. So much.

When the film was over, everyone was preparing to clean up and leave the apartment, with Shinji and Rei both staying after everyone else had gone. "So... was it good for you too?" Mana asked Shinji as he placed some paper plates in a trash bag.

"Huh?" Shinji asked Mana.

"The movie. Come on, I saw how your eyes were practically glued to the screen the entire time," Mana said with a smile.

"Uh... it was... quite the experience," Shinji said, not entirely sure how he felt about the movie. It was certainly well-put together, and he'd definitely felt an adrenaline rush during the action scenes and the climax. But... when he thought about the mother/daughter relationship between Ripley and Newt, a small part of him felt a tinge of sadness and yearning. Misato couldn't be a mother figure for him. She was too much like a teenager who just happened to look like a grown woman.

And then there was Rei. Having had access to pictures of his mother while living with his Uncle's family, in addition to having his memory jogged when he'd seen Unit 01 again, Shinji had noticed the vague similarities between Rei and his mother's faces. Although, the way her hair fanned out sometimes, in addition to the mole under her left eye, reminded him of Doctor Akagi as well.

Putting those thoughts aside, Shinji decided that it really didn't matter in the end.

"So, Ayanami-san, what about you?" Mana asked Rei.

Rei inhaled sharply as she organized her thoughts on the movie. "It was... exciting... scary... and... entertaining," Rei said. Much like Shinji, the aspect of the mother/daughter relationship between Ripley and Newt had brought some uncomfortable feelings to the forefront for Rei. Unlike Shinji, however, who'd been able to grow up with an aunt who could provide him with a motherly figure, Rei had never had any mother figures in her life.

No one had ever acted motherly towards her, as far as she could remember. The closest thing she could possibly have to a mother was Ritsuko Akagi, and she was simply her physician and clone manager. Ritsuko had never behaved in a motherly way towards Rei, not for as long as Rei could remember. And Gendo... while certainly being a father figure, was not exactly parental either.

Vice Commander Fuyutsuki certainly acted parental towards her at times, although he also kept his distance from her in order to prevent too much of an attachment from forming, since he was aware of her status as a clone. Sometimes Maya Ibuki would spend time with her during sync tests and in the locker rooms, but Ibuki was more akin to... a distant older sibling, if that were at all possible.

 _I have... never had a mother in my life_ , Rei realized bitterly. A frown soon marred her face as a result.

"Hey, Rei? Is something wrong?" Shinji asked her.

"I... thinking of the parental and child relationship between the main protagonist and the younger girl has caused me to... think about some things. I... I would like to be alone for a little bit, if I may?" Rei replied softly.

"Are you sure?" Shinji asked her. "Do you wanna talk about it? I'll listen," Shinji offered to her. Rei blinked at him in surprise, before slowly nodding her head.

"I... would appreciate that, Shinji. Perhaps... after we have finished helping Kirishima clean up her apartment," Rei said.

"Nah, you guys go ahead," Mana said, waving them off. "I've got time. Besides, tomorrow's Sunday. I can finally sleep in for once," Mana said with a knowing smirk on her face.

"Are you sure?" Shinji asked her.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Now scram, before I change my mind," Mana replied, waving him and Rei away.

"If you insist," Shinji said.

"I do. Now stop tempting me to change my mind already," Mana retorted, crossing her arms with a slightly annoyed expression on her face as Shinji walked Rei through the kitchen and down into the hallway. When Mana heard the sound of the door closing, she let out a sigh.

"Whew," she said. "I thought they'd never leave. Well, as soon as I get this cleaned up, it's private fun time," she said to herself as she quickly finished grabbing the used napkins and throwing them into the trash bag.

"Now... where did I put those dildos?" Mana asked herself as she began stripping while walking over to her bedroom.

* * *

**The Suzuhara Household, Saturday Afternoon, June 20, 2043**

"Ha! I win again!" Toji shouted joyously as the score board appeared on the TV screen in the living room. Asuka let out a groan in defeat as she placed her controller on the floor. "Geez, what's with you?" Toji asked Asuka with a worried expression.

"Nothing," Asuka muttered in response, hating how Toji's concerned voice made her feel.

"Are you sure? I mean, normally you kick my ass, but... well, you haven't really been yourself lately," Toji asked her.

"I said I'm  _fine_ ," Asuka barked at him with a frown.

"Yeah... I don't believe dat. Come on, Red. What's bugging ya?" Toji asked her. Asuka merely glanced away from him and picked up her controller again.

"Nothing. Let's just start another round," Asuka growled in response.

"Nuh-uh. I know that losin' to me ain't the problem here, so I aint' playin' another round. Not until ya tell me what's eatin' at ya," Toji said, standing up crossing his arms in front of his chest for effect. Asuka glared at him.

"There's nothing wrong, so let's just play again," Asuka said firmly.

"No. I'm not letting' dis go. Look, Red, I'm yer friend, so you can tell me what's wrong," Toji said, placing a hand on Asuka's shoulder, causing her breath to hitch. Asuka quickly shot up from the floor and stared Toji in the face.

"Listen, Toji Suzuhara. There. Is. Nothing. Wrong," Asuka said, accentuating each word through gritted teeth.

"Dat's bullshit! Ever since I became a pilot, you've been actin' weird around me, and I'm gettin' tired of it! I thought we reached an understandin' before I started at NERV, but now it's like... I dunno, but you're not helpin' matters by sulkin' and not sharing yer problems with me," Toji said.

"I said there's nothing wrong, so drop it!" Asuka snapped at him.

"Then why are ya gettin' so defensive!?" Toji asked her, leaning forward. Their faces were mere inches apart now, and they could feel each other's breath.

"I... I... I..." Asuka stammered as she looked into Toji's eyes, gulping as her heart rate increased with every second, and butterflies began to form in her stomach.

"Yes?" Toji asked her, butterflies forming in his stomach as well. Asuka was silent for a minute, and Toji waited expectantly for her response.  _Come on, Red! Just tell me what's bugging you! What are you hiding from me, unless... you're on your period? Is that why you're so crabby? Or... do you feel the same way I do, and you're just too afraid to say it?_

Meanwhile, Asuka contemplated her options.  _If I tell him... it makes this real. These feelings become real once I say them, and if that happens... can I send hi into battle when I feel this way around him? C-Can I... do my job properly? I checked the handbook and Mana was right; there's nothing in there regarding fraternization, but... can I really let my feelings out like this, knowing what could happen in the future if he feels the same way?_

Finally, Asuka decided to take a page from Mana's playbook. She reached forward and took Toji's face in her hands before tilting her head and crashing her lips onto his. Toji's eyes bugged out for a second, before he parted his lips to grant Asuka access, his eyes closing along with hers as he reached around her waist and brought her closer to him. Asuka's left leg slowly lifted into the air.

And then Toji's sister, Sakura Suzuhara, walked downstairs and ruined the moment.

"Hey, Onii-chan? Do you know where-holy crap!" Sakura exclaimed as she saw Toji kissing Asuka in the living room. Sakura then put a fist in the air. "Way to go, big brother!" Sakura chanted with enthusiasm. The two seventeen year-olds quickly parted and glanced over in Sakura's direction as they caught their breath.

"Oops! Sorry 'bout that," Sakura apologized sheepishly. "So, um... Onii-chan? Do you know where we keep the spare batteries? My Navi* just died on me," Sakura asked as she held up her hand-held gaming system.

"Uh... I think they're in the cupboard next to the silverware," Toji said as he pointed to the kitchen.

"Okay, thanks!" Sakura chirped as she ran into the kitchen.

Toji then looked at Asuka, who was blushing profusely at him. "So... I, uh... guess you hated kissin' me too, what with how quickly you pulled away?" Toji asked her with a chuckle. Asuka smiled bashfully at him, and the sight made Toji's knees feel weak.

"Um... a little. Maybe, if we hadn't been interrupted... I could've discovered how much I really hated it," Asuka said humorously. Toji glanced over into the kitchen, noticing the shadow of his sister as she tried hiding behind the entryway wall.

"Sis, get yer batteries and go upstairs," Toji said. His sister sighed and grabbed an unopened pack of batteries from the cupboard before rushing up the stairs to her room. Toji then turned back to look at Asuka. "So... wanna stay for dinner?" Toji asked her.

"I... I... um... sure," Asuka said, nodding her head.

"So... this was what's been botherin' ya, ain't it?" Toji asked her as he stepped closer. Asuka let out a sigh and nodded her head. "So... why? Why not just tell me dat ya like me? I mean, if dat's why you're worried about me gettin' hurt, it would've made more sense to me," Toji said.

"Well... I thought that if I told you... I thought there were rules against fraternization in the Eva Corps, but... there aren't. The thing is, Toji, everything I've been feeling is real now. I can't hide it or ignore it anymore, and... if something happens to you now... I just... I've never had to deal with this kind of thing before," Asuka said.

"Back home in Germany, my other two boyfriends were just civilians. They weren't pilots, so I never had to worry about them dying in an Eva. I didn't have to worry about the rules. But now... you're an Eva pilot, and... if you get hurt... I'll get hurt too. And if I get hurt, or even killed, you'll get hurt," Asuka said.

Toji slowly nodded his head.  _I think I get it now. She was worried about what would happen to either of us after gettin' together if one of us got hurt or died. I never thought about that, and... yikes, that is kind of scary to think about_ , Toji realized.

"So... knowing that... Toji, do you... do you still wish to... pursue a relationship with me?" Asuka asked him nervously. Toji thought about this for a minute, before a determined expression came over his face.

"I do," he said as he stepped closer to Asuka and took one of her hands in his own. "Even if we get hurt, I'm willin' to go for it. Yer worth it to me, Red. Besides, you know that old sayin', right? Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all," Toji said with a grin.

Asuka looked at him curiously for a minute, before her features softened and a small smile spread on her face. "Yeah... I guess so," she said softly before she wrapped her arms around Toji and brought him in for a hug. "Just remember, when we're on duty at NERV, we behave professionally," Asuka said.

"You got it, Red. No foolin' around at work," Toji said with a smile as he hugged Asuka back.

"Good. Now... what you invited me to stay for dinner. What exactly are we having?" Asuka asked him.

* * *

**The Pilots Apartment Complex, Mana's Apartment, Tokyo-3, Sunday, July 12, 2043**

Sitting in her living room, with a specialized wireless adapter set up for her laptop, Mana watched as Lieutenant Colonel Barnes smiled at her. " _It's almost ready, Mana. In less than an hour, we're gonna activate Unit Four-Alpha's new S-Two engine_ ," Barnes said. Mana smiled with giddy excitement at the prospect of watching the test in real time.

"How's the meathead?" Mana asked the dark-skinned mustachioed man through her headset. " _Oh, Wagner's just fine and' dandy. Now, uh, after the engine is activated, we may need to stop transmitting so that we can do our testing outside. We gonna put this baby through the ringer!_ " Barnes exclaimed eagerly over the speakers of Mana's laptop and her headphones.

Soon, the door opened to Mana's apartment, causing the girl to look up as she took off her headset. She watched as Kaji appeared in the kitchen before he walked over to where she was sitting in front of the coffee table. "Hey there, champ. So, a little birdy told me that something special was going to happen today," Kaji said as he walked over and sat down next to Mana. He was still wearing his dress clothes from NERV, although he'd taken off his shoes before entering the kitchen.

"Inspector Kaji. I should've known you'd be here," Mana said in English. "If you wanna watch, feel free, but please note that we're gonna be speaking in English the whole time," Mana said as she eyed the man carefully. Kaji held out his hands in a gesture to show that he was unarmed as he scooted closer.

"If you're wondering, I'm using headphones because of the sound quality, not for anything else. I've already found and disabled most of the bugs planted in the apartment," Mana said as she looked at Kaji knowingly. She then unplugged the headphones and set the laptop to use its built-in speakers.

"Sorry for the interruption, Colonel," Mana said into her microphone. " _Hey, it's no problem. Besides, something like this should have a bigger audience, you know? So, how are things going for you over there? It's been a week since I talked to ya last,_ " Barnes asked Mana over the speakers.

"Oh, things have been pretty good. Hey, where's my mom? Is she around?" Mana asked Barnes. " _Oh, she's over with the tech crews finishing up with the S-Two engine. I think they just need to put the covers back on and they'll be done_ ," Barnes replied.

"So, where's Harold?" Mana asked. " _Well, he should be-hey, Wagner! Get over here for a minute!_ " Barnes called out, just before a young man Mana's age jogged over in front of the communications terminal, wearing a yellow and black plug suit, similar to Mana's but slightly bulkier. " _What's up, Colonel?_ " Harold asked Barnes.

" _Say hello to our captive audience, would ya?_ " Barnes said to the boy as he grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him to face the terminal. " _Hey, Mana! Long time no see! And, uh..._ "

"Ryoji Kaji," Kaji said in English. "I am Kirishima-san's official guardian here in Japan," Kaji explained to the boy. Harold nodded in response. " _Right. Well, uh, hello, Mister Kaji. So, has Mana blown up half the city yet?_ " Harold asked with a snicker.

Mana held up a fist while extending only her middle finger. "Hey, fuck you, pendejo," Mana said with a smile. Harold held up a finger of his own in return. " _Right back at ya, Mana. So, anything I should know about the other pilots before I head over to Japan?_ " Harold asked her.

"When are you coming over?" Mana asked him in return. " _Well, probably a couple months after we finish tesing out Four-Alpha. We need to let her run around the field without a power cable to make sure she's workin' properly, but once she's cleared... watch out, Mana. I'm gonna have the most powerful Eva from now on_ ," Harold replied with a smirk.

"We'll see, Harold. We'll see," Mana replied, shaking her head. Kaji smiled as he watched the two of them interact, seeing how Mana truly behaved when she was at ease with people she trusted. " _So, when we come over to Japan, where should I put Four-Alpha?_ " Harold asked Mana.

"Bay Twelve, please," Mana said, before both teens shared a chuckle. On the screen, Barnes sighed with a smile as the two of them began regaling each other with stories of what had taken place in Japan and back home for the next thirty minutes.

**Thirty Minutes Later...**

" _Okay, Wagner, time to get your entry plug ready. I want you sitting in your seat with the safety harness snapped into place by the time we begin the countdown_ ," Barnes said to the boy, who nodded his head. " _Gotcha. Alright, I'll talk to you later, Mana. Bye_ ," Harold said before running off.

Barnes sighed. " _Well, I guess it's about time for the main event_ ," Barnes said. Mana and Kaji both nodded their heads in agreement as they saw the main shutters over the observation room windows begin to climb upwards, revealing the sight of the white and blue Evangelion in its holding cage behind the safety glass. " _Oh, Inspector Kaji? Please inform Gendo that we have some new weapons ready for you guys. We've already tested them with Four-Alpha, but after the testing, we sent most of them to the First Branch in Massachusetts. They'll arrive in Japan after Unit Three is finished. So, are you guys ready for the big show?_ " Barnes asked the duo.

"Yes, get on with it!" Mana said with a fake British accent, causing Barnes to chuckle over on his end. " _Alright, alright! Okay, people! Give Corporal Wagner another three minutes to report from his entry plug and we'll begin!_ " Barnes shouted. The various technicians in the room all nodded their heads as they kept their eyes glued to their monitoring stations.

Soon, another familiar face entered the room. "Mom!" Mana exclaimed giddily as her mother walked over to the terminal. " _Hey there, honey! Are you excited?_ " Aoi asked her daughter. "Damn straight!" Mana replied eagerly.

" _Sir, Corporal Wagner has reported that he is ready for the test_ ," a blonde-haired female technician replied from her console. " _Good! Okay, people! Let's look alive! Prepare for test activation in five... four... three... two... one... go!_ " Barnes announced enthusiastically.

Five seconds later, a bright white light emanated from the Eva, and it quickly filled the room, causing the screen to become static before a CONNECTION LOST message was displayed on Mana's laptop. Mana and Kaji stared at the screen in confusion, before Mana tried to re-establish a connection.

UNABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTION.

Mana frowned as a pit began to form in her stomach. Something was wrong. Something was  _very wrong_.

UNABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTION.

"They're just... having equipment problems, that's all," Mana said to herself as panic began to slowly set in, and the pit grew larger. Kaji watched as Mana continued trying to re-establish a connection with NERV 2nd Branch, each attempt yielding the same result.

UNABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTION.

"They... they're just keeping things locked up for secrecy. That's it. That's all," Mana said to herself unconvincingly. She began to feel a stinging sensation in the corners of her eyes as she kept trying to re-establish a connection.

UNABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTION.

"Please... please connect. Please connect," Mana began to whimper, causing Kaji to frown as he realized what was happening. "Come on, dammit. Damn you, FUCKING RE-CONNECT ALREADY!" Mana began crying.

UNABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTION.

"Mana-" " _ **No!**_  N-Nothing's wrong! They're fine! Everybody's fine!" Mana snapped at Kaji, desperate to believe her own words. "They're fine! They're all still alive! They  _are!_ " Mana shrieked in denial as the tears began flowing down her cheeks. Her eyes were widened in fear as reality kept trying to sink in.

UNABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTION.

"They're not dead! They're not dead! They're not dead!" Mana kept repeating to herself as she kept trying to re-establish the connection.

UNABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTION.

"Mana... I'm sorry," Kaji said softly. Unlike Mana, he had already accepted the grim reality what had just transpired, and he would not fool himself into believing otherwise.

UNABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTION.

"No! No! They're alive! They're still alive! They're just h-having equip-equipment problems! That's all!" Mana yelled at him angrily. "They're not dead! They're not d-dead! Th-They're not! They're not! They... th-they... they... no... they..."

Mana couldn't hold it any longer. She finally accepted the truth and shot herself towards Kaji, crying into his shirt as he held her. Kaji frowned as the girl began a shuddering mess, her sobs muffled by his shirt, and he closed his arms around her, slowly running one hand up and down her back, just as he had with Asuka and Mari when they had finally cried to him about their most upsetting problems while he was raising them.

He let her cry as he glanced over at the laptop, frowning at the message it constantly displayed.

UNABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTION.

* * *

**ENDING THEME: FLY ME TO THE MOON (AYANAMI), by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, as Mana begins sliding into depression following the destruction of NERV 2nd Branch, a strange new Angel appears, one which defies the laws of physics itself. It's a race against time as this new Angel captures one of the Evas, forcing the other pilots to make a life or death decision... before the military makes that choice for them.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: And this was Episode 13. Yep, this is the turning point where things start becoming... slightly more psychological. Also, in the next episode, Shinji will once again become the focus of the story, as he's been... absent for a lot of things, hasn't he?
> 
> *This is (not) a shout-out to James Cameron's AVATAR. Navi is a term for those personal computers from Serial Experiments Lain (1998). I used it as a name for Sakura's hand-held gaming system because... eh, why not?
> 
> And yes, I've decided to use Bart Howard's immortal Fly Me To The Moon for this episode's ending, as a way of showing how things are starting to take a darker turn.
> 
> The next episode will feature a bit of a conspiracy thriller vibe to it, but I won't say much more.
> 
> Anyway, please be sure to let me know what you think of the episode and/or story so far in your reviews!


	14. In The Depths Of Human Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Mana struggles to cope with the destruction of NERV Second Branch, a new Angel appears in Tokyo-3.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

This episode also marks the next stage of Shinji's development as a character. Episodes 1 - 5 were mostly Shinji's story as he was introduced to the Angel War and realized the weight of his responsibilities. After that, episodes 6 - 9 focused on Asuka and Mari as they joined Shinji and Rei. Episodes 10 - 13 focused on Mana as she was introduced and tried to fit in with the other pilots. In the background, from episode 9 onward, the growing relationship between Toji and Asuka has developed, as has the relationship between Shinji and Rei, along with the relationship between Misato and Makoto.

Finally, with this episode, Shinji becomes a major player once again, as Leliel makes its appearance. No, I will not be focusing on the psychological bullshit that made up half of the original episode featuring Leliel. Fuck that noise. Gentlemen, behold! I give you... Shinji continuing his character development! And some jokes about the space time continuum.

On one final note, everything that I have Ritsuko and Maya say regarding Leliel in this episode, aside from the details I gleamed from various Evangelion wikis, is pretty much made up on the spot for the sake of the plot. All of the technobabble I have Ritsuko spout is stuff I'm just stuff I'm pulling out of my ass, so don't go using this for any physics homework.

Music I listened to while writing this episode includes  _Capricorn One Original Motion Picture Soundtrack_  (1978) by Jerry Goldsmith,  _Red Planet: Music From The Motion Picture_  (2000) by Graeme Revell and Various Artists,  _Neon Genesis Evangelion OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu and Yoichi Murata and Masamichi Amano,  _The End Of Evangelion_  (1997) by Shiro Sagisu, and  _Con Air_   _Original Motion Picture Soundtrack_  (1996) by Mark Mancina and Trevor Rabin.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites. However, for this episode, listening to the music in its listed order is highly recommended.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998):  _B-19 Friendship_ ,  _B-9 Infantile Dependence, Adult Dependency_ ,  _B-5 Requiem, Sorrow (The Soft Sound Of Bells)_ ,  _B-6 Anxiety_ ,  _C-1 Pleasant Morning_ ,  _A-11 Depression_.

Music From  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _Infantile Dependence, Adult Dependency_ ,  _Hostility Restrained_ ,  _Ritsuko_ ,  _The Heady Feeling Of Freedom_ ,  _Good, or Don't Be_ ,  _Depression_ ,  _Introjection_ ,  _The Sorrow of Losing The Object of One's Dependence_ ,  _Background Music 1_ ,  _Magmadiver_ ,  _Normal Blood_ ,  _Harbinger of Tragedy_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _F02 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_ ,  _A01 - Rei I_.

Music From  _Con Air_  (1996):  _Main Theme_ ,  _Fire Truck Chase_ ,  _Overture_.

Music From  _Red Planet_  (2000):  _Alone_ ,  _A Thousand Years_  (by Sting),  _The Inferno_  (by Emma Shapplin and Graeme Revell),  _Canto XXX_  (by Emma Shapplin and Graeme Revell),  _Dante's Eternal Flame_  (by Melissa Kaplan and Graeme Revell),  _The Fifth Heaven_  (By Emma Shapplin and Graeme Revell),  _Mars Red Planet_ ,  _The Tower That Ate People_  (by Peter Gabriel).

Music From  _Capricorn One_  (1978):  _Breakout_ ,  _Kay's Theme_ ,  _The Message_ ,  _The Station_ ,  _The Long Climb_ ,  _The Snake_ ,  _No Water_ ,  _The Celebration_.

Music From  _The End Of Evangelion_  (1997):  _False Regeneration (Itsuwari no Saisei)_ ,  _Vicarious Invasion_ ,  _Expansion of the Blockade_ ,  _The Passage of Emptiness_.

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _The Sorrow Of Losing The Object Of One's Dependence_  (Pilots at the mall),  **02**.  _Magmadiver_  (Angel Alert/Pilots scrambled),  **03**.  _B-6 Anxiety_  (First Encounter),  **04**.  _B-5 Requiem, Sorrow (The Soft Sound of Bells)_  (Aftermath of encounter),  **05**.  _Depression_  (Floating in the Dirac Sea),  **06**.  _The Letter_  (The Committee's plan/Ticking Clock),  **07**.  _Infantile Dependence, Adult Dependency_  (Dark discovery),  **08**.  _Breakout_  (Unauthorized rescue operation),  **09**.  _Alone_  (Losing hope),  **10**.  _Normal Blood_  (Extension of A.T. Fields),  **11**.  _Con Air Main Theme_  (Final Push),  **12**.  _Kay's Theme_  (Reunion/Feeling Better).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**13**.  _F02 -_ _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis A Capella Version, by the late Eri Kawai (Found on YouTube)**

* * *

**Episode 14: In The Depths Of Human Hearts**

* * *

**Ritsuko Akagi's Apartment, Tokyo-3, Sunday Evening, July 12**

Stretching out her back on the bed, Ritsuko smiled as she looked over at Gendo, who was busy putting his glasses back on. When Gendo looked back at her, she smiled deeper. "I needed that," Ritsuko said appreciatively. Gendo gave her a small smile in return, although it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, causing Ritsuko to wonder if perhaps she had imagined it.

With half-lidded eyes, Ritsuko leaned forward towards Gendo's face, only for the moment to be ruined when his cell phone rang. Rolling his eyes and groaning in frustration, Gendo reached over to the night stand and grabbed his phone, seeing that the number came from NERV HQ itself. "Hello?" Gendo asked into the phone.

His eyes widened as soon as he heard the news from the other end. "Are you certain? How long ago did it happen?" Gendo asked, his mask of calm collectedness falling away as he sat up in the bed. Ritsuko looked at him with a worried expression.

Gendo nodded his head as he listened to the person on the other end speaking. "I see. In that case... I want security around the Eva cages doubled, and two extra security agents assigned to each pilot starting tomorrow. We don't know if this was an accident or the work of something else just yet," Gendo said.

"Yes. Yes, inform the Vice Commander right away. I will attempt to contact R-Doctor Akagi to inform her and gain her input as soon as possible. Thank you, Major Katsuragi. Uh-huh... very well, please try to contact Inspector Kaji and ascertain the location of each pilot as soon as you are able. You have my utmost confidence, Major. No, that won't be necessary. I will contact Doctor Akagi myself. I know her number. Yes, good bye," Gendo said before hanging up.

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at Gendo as he put the phone down and groaned while shaking his head. "What was that all about?" Ritsuko asked Gendo as she placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her with a worn expression on his face.

"I've just received word... that NERV Second Branch, along with the rest of Perfection Valley, was just wiped out in a massive explosion, with a recorded radius of eighty-nine kilometers," Gendo relayed to her. Ritsuko's jaw dropped in shock.

"Ritsuko... we'll need to put the rest of our evening plans on hold. We need to make our way to HQ to collect data. You can begin having the MAGI collect everything possible from the Second Branch's offsite storage locations, while I will be speaking with a certain inspector. Tomorrow, we'll have a meeting involving all top-level staff. I'll have Section Two drive us there in separate vehicles to avoid suspicion tonight," Gendo said. Ritsuko nodded her head in understanding as she got out of bed and began getting dressed.

 _Even without solid evidence, I have little doubt that SEELE was involved in this. It would seem that they found a way to get to you after all, Barnes. I just hope you were able to send us a few more tools to use against them than they realized_ , Gendo thought to himself as he began getting dressed.

* * *

**The Tokyo-3 Mall, Friday, July 24, 2043**

Sipping a soda in the food court, Kensuke Aida listened intently as Shinji and Toji talked about an upcoming sync test. Since none of them had school during the summer, they were all wearing casual clothes, including Rei. Shinji was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt he had purchased shortly after his birthday. Rei was wearing a pair of khaki pants and a yellow T-shirt. Kensuke was wearing slacks and a tan polo shirt, while Toji was wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt. "Which means we'll probably have to stay the whole day, if that's what I think she's planning," Shinji finished with a frustrated sigh.

"Damn, man. I didn't think I'd get sick of being a pilot so quickly," Toji added as he leaned back in his chair. "I mean, I haven't even fought an Angel yet," he added.

"If you're lucky, you won't ever have to," Shinji said, memories of his previous battle coming to the forefront of his mind.

"Yes," Rei said in agreement. "Combat against an Angel can often be... painful," she added before she took a bite out of her vegetable kebab.

Kensuke finally let out a sigh. "Okay, are we just going to keep ignoring what happened to Kirishima-san?" Kensuke asked his friends. Sitting next to Shinji, Rei took a sip of her water.

"We have tried to help her emotionally, Aida, but she remains... troubled," Rei said with a frown on her face. Shortly after the destruction of NERV 2nd Branch, practically everyone in NERV Japan had been informed of the incident. Something had gone wrong with the activation of Unit 04-Alpha's S-2 engine, creating a Dirac Sea which consumed everything within an 89 kilometer radius. Of course, the part about the Dirac Sea had been kept secret from everyone except high-ranking personnel, leaving everyone else thinking that it had simply been an massive explosion.

"Guys, just give her time to breathe," Toji said. "I mean, she just lost her whole family and everyone else she knew at Second Branch. Dat ain't somethin' ya just get over in a few weeks. Dat kinda thing takes  _time_ ," Toji said, speaking from experience. When his and Sakura's mother had died, it had taken months for their family to start pulling themselves back together, and even years after the fact, the death of Mrs. Suzuhara was still a sore spot for Toji's family.

"Yeah, but... seeing her this way is just... it just feels so wrong," Kensuke said mournfully. "I mean, she hasn't teased Asuka or cracked a single joke at anyone's expense at all, and she doesn't even smile anymore," Kensuke whined. He got along with Mana fairly well most of the time, and she was among the few people willing to listen to him when he went on his rambles about the newest military vehicle being developed.

"Dude, I just said that she needs time to pull herself together," Toji said. "She's all alone here, man. She's got no one but herself and her Eva," Toji said.

"Wait, she's got  _us_ ," Kensuke retorted.

"Yeah, but she's only known us for a few months, Ken-man. All the people who were at NERV Second Branch? She'd known them all her  _life_. And now? They're gone, man. I don't think  _anyone_  would be able to handle somethin' like dat without breaking down," Toji said.

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Kensuke said with a frown. "Is there anything we can do to cheer her up? Like, at all?" Kensuke asked his friends. Everyone, including Rei, frowned in dismay as they realized how dismal their chances were of cheering up the depressed girl.

"Short of bringing Second Branch back into existence? I don't think there  _is_  anything we can do at this point," Shinji said with a melancholy sigh. "All we can do right now is just let her know that we've got her back if she needs us," he added. "I mean, she'd do the same if it were one of us in that position, right?"

* * *

**Deep Inside NERV HQ...**

Ritsuko Akagi looked at the results of the latest sync test. "Hm... Sohryu and Makinami are performing as expected," Ritsuko said as she studied the lines of the graph. "Kirishima... is performing better than expected, all things considered," she said with a hint of surprise in her voice. Mana's sync rate was currently hovering above 57 percent.

Sitting in a chair next to her, Maya Ibuki nodded her head. "Yeah. She's down twenty points so far, but she's still well above the borderline," Maya said.

"Well, she can still pilot her Eva," Ritsuko noted. "If she drops any further, though, I suspect we'll need to dispatch Cadet Suzuhara sooner than anticipated," Ritsuko added.

Maya quietly nodded her head, before checking to make sure that the coms were turned off. "Sempai... if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you something," Maya started off nervously.

"Oh?" Ritsuko asked her.

"Well... I've heard rumors lately about what happened at Second Branch. Even with all of the data that's been collected so far, do we really know  _exactly_  what happened?" Maya asked Ritsuko. Ritsuko closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"From what little data we were able to collect from the off-site storage location for the Second Branch MAGI, apparently the S-Two engine wasn't aligned properly inside the Eva before it was tested," Ritsuko lied. She had been informed by Gendo, Fuyutsuki, and even Kaji that the incident was a result of sabotage by SEELE. The dogmatic council had apparently decided to make sure that no other Evangelions could gain their own S-2 capabilities, since their interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls dictated that only  _one_  Eva was supposed to achieve that ability before the time of Third Impact was set to occur.

 _Their zealous dogma has forced them to do whatever they believe is necessary to ensure that only their interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls is allowed to become reality_ , Gendo had told her. Ritsuko felt sick at the thought that those men had deliberately committed mass murder just to further their own agenda. But, again, she also knew that they had done so before. SEELE had been responsible for allowing 2nd Impact to occur as well, by funding the Katsuragi expedition and then keeping their mouths shut when the time came to remove the Lance of Longinus from ADAM, silencing anyone who had tried to intervene.

 _So, what will they do now? They've already eliminated Evangelion Unit 04-Alpha_.  _I suppose it's only a matter of time before they come after Four-Beta as well_ , Ritsuko pondered, not noticing that Maya was still talking to her.

"... guess that's all we can really do for the moment. I just wish we could figure out  _how_  it was supposed to have been aligned in the first place. All of that data... and all of those people. It's just too much to think about sometimes," Maya said sadly. Ritsuko nodded her head in half-hearted agreement with her subordinate, not having heard most of what she had said in the first place.

**The Pilots Locker Room, An Hour Later...**

Stepping out of the shower with a towel around her, Mana Kirishima stepped forward listlessly as she dried off, keeping her eyes downcast towards the floor with a melancholy expression on her face. Standing nearby, Asuka and Mari both noticed her disposition. Asuka frowned at Mana's depressing behavior, although she sympathized with the girl entirely, while Mari simply shook her head.

"Welcome to the club," Mari muttered quietly as she dried off and began slipping on her underwear and bra. Asuka shot Mari a glare, before her gaze softened as she realized what her sister-in-arms meant. Mari had lost her family as well at an early age, losing both of her parents shortly before being taken in by Kaji.

"You know... we should take her out somewhere," Mari said quietly to Asuka. Asuka glanced between Mari and Mana before shaking her head.

"No. Let her have some time to herself," Asuka said quietly in response.

"Come on, look at her," Mari hissed at Asuka. "She just lost her entire family in one fell swoop. She's about this close to slitting her fucking wrists," Mari hissed at Asuka, holding up her thumb and pointer finger less than an inch apart from each other.

Asuka sighed in frustration. "Okay.  _Fine_. We'll do something tonight. Just... don't go overboard, please?" Asuka finally relented.

Mari smiled and nodded her head. "You got it. Just a simple trip to the arcade to boost her spirits, and then maybe a stop at the food court," Mari said. Asuka nodded her head in approval before walking over to Mana.

"Hey, Mana? We're gonna head over to mall, wanna come with us?" Asuka asked her. Mana looked at her lifelessly, her face almost devoid of expression.

"Not really. I'd rather just stay home," Mana replied softly, her voice just above a whisper. Asuka frowned in response.

"Too bad. You're coming with us. That's an order, Corporal," Asuka said firmly.

"Whatever," Mana said lifelessly as she finished getting dressed.

* * *

**Hakone Mountain Range, Tuesday Morning, July 28, 2043**

A small sphere slowly hovered over the tree tops of the forests below, its shadow covering them as it grew in size. The sphere had a twisted black and white stripped appearance to it as it slowly flew through the air, making its way toward Tokyo-3. Leliel could sense the presence of ADAM in the distance, as well as that of Lilith. ADAM was faint, but Lilith was much stronger, her presence carrying greater weight as a result of the Lilin that populated the landscape around her tomb.

 _When I reach them, I will no longer be alone. I will be one with Father, or one with Lilith. No matter who I choose, I will no longer be alone. I do not wish to be alone anymore. Father, Lilith, I am coming_ , Leliel thought to itself as it flew through the air.

* * *

**NERV HQ Command Center...**

Sitting at his desk, 2nd Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga sipped his water bottle as he monitored various lines of communication from different NERV sensor arrays located throughout Tokyo-3 and the rest of Japan. "Well... nothing unusual so far today. Guess it'll be another-" Makoto was cut off as the alarms blared.

"Blue Pattern detected!" 2nd Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba called out from his station, while 1st Lieutenant Maya Ibuki called Section 2. "It's heading this way!" Aoba called out again, while Misato Katsuragi stood behind Hyuga's chair, staring at the screen as aerial drones captured footage of the newest Angel.

"Target now classified as the Eleventh Angel!" Maya exclaimed.

"How long until it reaches Tokyo Three?" Misato asked.

"Less than an hour," Hyuga replied. Misato glared at the Angel on the screen.

"Section Two reports they have the pilots and are on their way!" Maya called out from her station. "ETA five minutes!" she added.

"Major, we have word from the JSSDF that they have Jet Alone standing by for deployment. What should I tell them?" Hyuga asked.

"Tell them to stand by and let us take the Angel first. They can send in Jet Alone if we require its assistance," Misato replied. Makoto nodded his head and relayed Misato's message to the JSSDF commander on the other line.

**The Pilots Locker Room, Ten Minutes Later...**

All six pilots hurriedly put on their plug suits. "Finally!" Mari exclaimed as she zipped up her plug suit. "We get to fight an Angel together instead of letting the military handle it," she added in relief.

Shinji rolled his eyes at Mari's enthusiasm.  _Asuka's right_ , Shinji thought to himself.  _That girl has an unhealthy affinity for this job_. Shinji then looked over at Mana, who was already activating her yellow plug suit's body conforming feature. The girl had lacked her recent lifeless expression, instead replacing it with something akin to a lackluster grimace, as though she were forcing herself to show some kind of expression.

"Uh, hey? Kirishima-san? You okay?" Shinji asked Mana. Mana glanced over at him and nodded her head silently in response before she made her way out of the locker room and into the corridor that led to the Eva cages. Glancing around the room, Shinji noticed a concerned look on Rei's face. He shrugged his shoulders in response as he activated the body conforming feature of his own plug suit.

"Just let her be," Asuka said as she walked over to Shinji. "I'll talk to her on a private com channel once we get in the Evas," Asuka said, before turning to look at Toji. "Hey, Toji! If Mana is too out of sorts to pilot her Eva, I'm gonna need you to take her place. Understood?" Asuka barked at her boyfriend.

"Uh, y-yeah. Understood," Toji said nervously. "I, uh... I've synchronized with Unit Four. I-I can handle it," he said, nodding his head.

"If you're gonna stay jittery, maybe I'll just have both of ya stay back. I need pilots who can remain focused," Asuka said. Toji nodded his head in understanding.

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Topside, One Hour Later...**

Leliel slowly moved over the metallic forest that was Tokyo-3, its body gliding along the buildings along with its shadow. It stretched its senses outward, listening, feeling, sniffing for the exact location of ADAM or Lilith. Its A.T. Field rippled invisibly as it tried to search for a way to reach its father.

Soon enough, however, several miles apart, five large black boxes rose out of the city as multiple buildings were retracted into the city's frame. Multiple weapon boxes were also deployed nearby, and the large armored humanoids quickly spread themselves out, hiding behind large buildings as cover.

Inside the entry plug of Unit 02, Warrant Officer Asuka Langley Sohryu switched over to a private com channel. "Corporal Kirishima, status report," Asuka requested. " _I have visual confirmation of the target. Awaiting further orders_ ," Mana replied in monotone over the com, causing Asuka to frown before she switched to an open channel.

"All units, report your positions, over," Asuka ordered. " _This is Corporal Ikari in Unit One, standing by near the, uh... I think its a grocery plaza or something_ ," Shinji replied over the com. Asuka held in a chuckle at Shinji's unfamiliarity with the city that he had been living in for over a year. "Affirmative. Hold your position and await further orders," Asuka said.

"Corporal Ayanami, status report?" Asuka requested. " _I am in position just west of the Blue Sky Gym and Recreation Center_ ," Rei reported over the com. "Affirmative," Asuka said, happy that at least one pilot could do their job competently.

"Warrant Officer Makinami, status report, over?" Asuka asked. " _This is Big Green standing by and ready to kick ass_ ," Mari reported enthusiastically over the com. "Affirmative. What's your position, over?" Asuka asked Mari. " _Uh... I think... I'm standing behind a large office building. I've already got my rifle trained on the Angel, and... I'm... awaiting further orders_ ," Mari said reluctantly. Asuka could practically  _hear_  the frown on Mari's face as she spoke.

"All right. Corporal Kirishima, please report your position, over," Asuka asked. " _I am holding position one hundred and thirty meters away from the target. I have my rifle loaded and ready to fire_ ," Mana reported lifelessly over the com.

"A...Affirmative," Asuka said with a frown.  _Well... I suppose I could let her have the first shot at it. Sure, Mari might be pissed at not getting a shot, but Mana's just been so... alright, I'll throw her a bone_ , Asuka thought to herself.

"Corporal Kirishima, deploy your A.T. Field to neutralize that of the Angel, but do  _not_  open fire until I say so," Asuka ordered over the com. " _Affirmative. Deploying A.T. Field now_ ," Mana reported over the com.

Outside of the Evas, the strange black and white striped sphere began to change colors as its A.T. made contact with that of Unit 04-Beta, which had recently been renamed as simply Unit 04 due to the loss of Unit 04-Alpha. The Angel then moved with frightening speed over to Unit 04's location.

" _Kirishima, get out of there! Your position's been compromised!_ " Asuka shouted over the com. Inside her entry plug, Mana's eyes narrowed and a frown formed on her face as she opened fire with her Eva's rifle, causing the bullets to pass right through the large sphere. The sphere began rising higher and higher into the sky, until Mana noticed the buildings rising with it as well.

"What the... hell?" Mana asked, until she realized that Unit 04 was sinking into the Angel's large dark shadow. "Oh  _shit!_  I need help!" Mana cried out over the com. She aimed the rifle down into the shadow and opened fire, only for the bullets to simply enter the dark mass without any effect. "Shit, someone help!" Mana cried out, just as she saw Unit 02 and Unit 01 rushing towards her, with Unit 01 reaching her first.

Unit 01 held out her right arm for Unit 04 to grab, only for the dark shadow to begin expanding underneath Unit 01 as well. " _Ikari! Move your ass!_ " Asuka shouted over the com as she began climbing up a building, grabbing Unit 01 and dragging it along with her. " _But! K-Kirishima-san! Sohryu, she's still trapped!_ " Shinji cried out over the com.

" _And we'll be trapped too if we don't get off the ground! We can't help her if we get pulled in ourselves!_ " Asuka retorted as she pulled Unit 01 up onto the roof of a large building. "Shinji! Asuka! Rei! Someone, help! I don't wanna die like this! Please!" Mana cried out in fear as Unit 04 was sucked into the black disc below. Unit 01 reached out again, her fingers just touching the tips of Unit 04's own fingers, before the Eva was quickly pulled into the black disc and disappeared.

"No!" Shinji screamed in fear and anger. "No! Kirishima-san! Kirishima-san!" Shinji cried out as his friend disappeared. Unit 02 kept a tight grip on Unit 01 as it kept the purple Eva away from the dark shadow beneath them. " _Ikari... there's nothing more we can do. We need to regroup with the others_ ," Asuka said regretfully over the com.

"No! We can't leave Kirishima-san! We... we  _can't!_ " Shinji cried in desperation. " _Corporal, this is not up for discussion. I'm giving you an order, now let's move!_ " Asuka barked at him over the com. " _Makinami, Ayanami; get your Evas either off the ground or back int he deployment boxes. We need to regroup and strategize. Come in HQ, this is Eva Squad Leader Warrant Officer Sohryu, requesting permission to disengage from the enemy_ ," Shinji heard Asuka say over the com.

" _Affirmative, Sohryu. You guys make your way back to your deployment boxes. We'll deploy aerial drones to monitor the Angel in the mean time_ ," Misato said over the com.

"But what about Kirishima-san!?" Shinji cried out. " _Corporal, we have our orders. Now let's move!_ " Asuka barked at him over the com as she forced Unit 02 to drag Unit 01 alongside it to the nearest deployment box. "This... this isn't right, Sohryu. Leaving Kirishima-san like this just isn't right," Shinji muttered in dismay. " _I know, Corporal. I know_ ," Asuka replied solemnly over the com in agreement.

" _But if we try to jump into that thing recklessly, we'll just end up making things worse for everyone. If we want to help Corporal Kirishima, then we're going to need to collect information on this Angel, and that means waiting for Doctor Akagi and the MAGI to study it as best they can. I'm sorry, but that's all we can do for now. When they find a solution, I promise you'll be the first person I choose for the rescue mission_ ," Asuka said over the com in an effort to assuage Shinji's panic and concern.

* * *

**NERV HQ, STRATEGY ROOM B-20, Four Hours Later...**

In front of a large screen, Ritsuko Akagi paced back and forth as she waited for everyone to seat themselves at the conference table. Gendo, Kaji, and Fuyutsuki were already seated at the table, with Gendo sitting at the very end, his hands folded in front of his face in his usual pose, while Fuyutsuki held his hands under his chin. Kaji simply sat near the front with a tired and worried expression on his face. Misato stood at the doorway as the pilots all entered the room. As soon as the final pilot arrived and Misato took her seat, Ritsuko cleared her throat. "Okay, from what the MAGI have been able to determine, based on every possible scan that we've performed with the available equipment, the Eleventh Angel is not the large striped sphere in the air. It is, in fact, the  _shadow_  on the ground," Ritsuko said, causing everyone's eyes to widen.

Shinji quickly raised a hand. "Wait a minute. If the shadow on the ground is the Angel, then what's the sphere in the air?" Shinji asked Ritsuko. "Wait... is the  _sphere_  the Angel's  _shadow?_ " Shinji asked as he quickly put the puzzle piece together.

"Well... yes," Ritsuko replied bluntly.

"How is that even  _possible!?_ " Asuka asked incredulously.

"Well, from what the MAGI have discovered, the Angel posseses an  _inverted_  A.T. Field, meaning that everything can get sucked into it without harming the core. Because of this, the Angel's shadow is projected into the air as opposed to being the absence of light the way that normal shadows are created," Ritsuko explained. Shinji and the others stared at her in confusion.

"That... makes no sense to me," Asuka said bluntly. Sitting nearby, Toji nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, I'm with Sohryu-san. I don't understand how the Angel's inverted A.T. Field makes its shadow act dat way," Toji said, shaking his head. "I mean, it's got spots of darkness in it, right? Shouldn't an  _inverted_  shadow be, like, totally bright or somethin'?" Toji asked.

"Look, I'm just going off of what we've been able to observe," Ritsuko said, trying to reign in her temper.

Soon, Rei raised her hand. "Yes, Ayanami?" Ritsuko asked.

"Have the MAGI determined a way for us to rescue Corporal Kirishima, based on the available information?" Rei asked curiously.

"Well, they're still collating. Right now, I'm telling you all what we've been able to find out since the Angel appeared over the city. However, I haven't finished telling you everything yet," Ritsuko said, slightly annoyed.

"Doctor Akagi, please continue," Fuyutsuki said from where he was sitting. Ritsuko nodded her head in appreciation.

"All right. Now, the Angel's body is, according the MAGI, over six hundred and eighty meters wide, but only three  _nanometers_  thick," Ritsuko said.

Everyone at the table blinked at her in bewilderment. "N-Nanometers?" Mari asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Ritsuko said in confirmation. "The Angel actually exists in a pocket dimension, which I can only truly explain using higher-order Physics theories. Simply put, though, the Angel's body contains a Dirac Sea, from which nothing can escape, similar to a black hole in some ways," Ritsuko elaborated. Toji shook his head in dismay, while Asuka sighed in defeat.

With the slightest furrowing of his brow, Gendo Ikari finally spoke up. "Doctor Akagi, based on the available data, how strong would you say this Angel's A.T. Field is?" Gendo asked her.

"Well, being an inverted A.T. Field means that anything we throw at it won't really have an effect. All weapons would just pass through it and become lost in the Dirac Sea inside of it," Ritsuko said.

"This Dirac Sea; do its measurements match those of the Dirac Sea which formed during the destruction of NERV Second Branch?" Gendo asked, a slight hint of interest permeating his voice.

"Wait, what?" Shinji asked in confusion. "I thought that NERV Second Branch was destroyed by an explosion. What's this about some kind of... weird black hole dimension?" Shinji asked as his gaze flicked back and forth between Gendo and Ritsuko.

"When the S-Two engine activated improperly, the energy relased by it created a Dirac Sea, which consumed everything within an eighty-nine kilometer radius," Ritsuko explained. "We didn't realize that this was the case until after the MAGI had combed through the data sent to the off-site storage location for Second Branch's MAGI," she added.

"So... does that mean this Angel could be related to what happened in Nevada?" Misato asked curiously.

A thoughtful expression overcame Ritsuko's face. "Well... it's  _possible_ , but we can't really know for certain at this point," Ritsuko replied hesitantly.

"Doctor Akagi, in light of this information, what would be the most effective way of defeating this Angel?" Gendo asked bluntly, quickly changing the subject.

"Huh? W-Well... uh, let's see," Ritsuko said as she began wracking her brain. "Hm... Field is  _inverted_ , so... yes, that might work," she muttered as she paced back and forth. Finally, she turned to look at Gendo. "The most effective solution, based on the available data, would be to unleash a large amount of energy inside of the Angel, behind its A.T. Field, of course," Ritsuko said.

"Wait... you mean dropping some kind of bomb inside of that thing, don't you?" Asuka asked her.

"Well, if we were to detonate a bomb outside of the A.T. field, it would just absorb the energy. Detonating it  _inside_ , however, ensures that the energy released by the bomb would be enough to destroy the Angel's core by using the inverted A.T. Field to trap said energy in a location from which it cannot escape without tearing the Angel itself apart," Ritsuko explained.

"How great a yield would be necessary for this to work?" Gendo asked her.

"Um, you'll have to give me some time to collect more data on the strength of the Angel's A.T. Field," Ritsuko replied.

"Hold on a second!" Shinji exclaimed. "What about Kirishima-san? You can't just drop a bomb into the Angel with her still inside it!"

"Corporal Ikari, our top priority destroying the Angel," Gendo said coldly.

"Well, can't we at least find a way to rescue Kirishima-san first? What if the strength of the bomb is enough to destroy her Eva? She could die!" Shinji retorted fiercely.

"Corporal Ikari is correct, Commander," Rei said. "Corporal Kirishima could very well die if the strength of the weapon used is too great for her Eva's A.T. Field to withstand. It would be wise for us to consider another alternative, lest we kill a fellow pilot and destroy an Evangelion by accident," she concluded.

Gendo remained silent for a moment. "Your point does bear merit, Corporal Ayanami," Gendo said thoughtfully. "Doctor Akagi, please collect as much data as possible to ascertain the minimum yield necessary to destroy the Angel. At the same time, find out if Evangelion Unit Four is capable of producing an A.T. Field that can withstand this yield. When you have finished, I want a report waiting on my desk that I can give to the U.N. Oversight Committee," Gendo said.

"The Oversight Committee?" Kaji asked, finally speaking up.

"Yes. It would seem that the loss of both American Evas in such a short time has caught their interest, and they made a point to contact us shortly after learning of today's disastrous encounter," Gendo explained. "They also mentioned that the victory of Jet Alone over the previous Angel has caused them to begin questioning our worth, and this most recent event has... incensed them, so to speak," Gendo said.

"Hey, wait a minute here," Kaji said. "I think we've all been neglecting something. Kirishima's life support! How long can Unit Four last without its power cable again?" Kaji asked.

"About four hours and thirty-seven minutes at maximum usage. It can potentially last forty-eight hours if only used for basic life support and communication functions," Ritsuko replied.

"Well, we may not have forty-eight hours. Who knows what kind of effect that Angel's black hole dimension may have on the Eva's internal components?" Kaji said worriedly.

"Doctor Akagi, Inspector Kaji has brought up an interesting point. Do we know how the passage of time is affected inside the Dirac Sea?" Gendo asked her.

"Um... I'm not entirely sure," Ritsuko replied.

"In that case, I would suggest having that report ready soon," Gendo said calmly.

"I'll have a report ready in three hours," Ritsuko said.

"Very well," Gendo replied. "Until Doctor Akagi's report has been finished, everyone is dismissed. All Eva pilots are to remain on standby until further notice, however, the Evas themselves will remain under lock-down until a plan has been formed to deal with the newest Angel. All other personnel may return to their stations."

* * *

**Inside Unit 04-Beta, Floating In The Dirac Sea...**

Mana Kirishima swore as she once again failed to pick up any transmissions using her Eva's com system. "Dammit!" she spat angrily. She then began wincing as she felt the pressure between her legs return. Looking over at a compartment above her, she quickly opened it and pulled out an empty plastic container with a removable lid. "I was hoping I'd never have to do this," she muttered as she removed a small patch covering her plug suit's crotch region and opened the lid before pressing the container tightly against herself.

After a minute, Mana sighed in relief before quickly pulling the container away and snapping the lid shut. "I knew I should've gone before suiting up earlier," she muttered to herself before replacing the patch over her plug suit. She then made sure to put the container in a large plastic baggy before zipping it up and placing it in a compartment marked WASTE.

Returning to her seat, Mana closed her eyes and inhaled before opening them again. She quickly scooted back in surprise when she saw a mirror image of herself, albeit younger, standing in front of her. Furthermore, the younger version of her had dull gray eyes, and her hair was much more dull as well.

Mana tilted her head in confusion. "What the hell? Am I already starting to hallucinate?" she asked herself. She lifted herself up from her seat and stepped over to the younger version of herself before swiping her right hand through the younger girl's head. "Yep. I'm finally losing my mind," Mana said, rolling her eyes with a chortle.

The younger and duller Mana simply blinked at her and reached a hand out, touching Mana with a white glow, creating a physical sensation that Mana could feel. Mana's eyes widened and she fell back into her seat with a yelp. "Jesus Christ!" Mana swore in fright.

"W-What the fuck!? What are you!?" Mana asked in bewilderment and fright.

The apparition simply tilted its head in confusion. " **I am I** ," the apparition replied simply, before a confused look appeared on its face. Mana closed her eyes and shook her head in bewilderment. "This ain't real. This ain't real!" Mana chanted before opening her eyes again to see that the apparition was gone.

She slowly looked around the interior of the entry plug for signs of the ghostly figure, only to find herself completely alone once more.

"Okay. I... I need to check the settings for the LCL filters. Maybe I need to draw from the reserve tanks so I can do a clean cycle," Mana said to herself. She accessed a menu using one of the keyboards nearby and accessed a program to scan the LCL. Soon, a blue light emanated from two thin columns located in the top of the entry plug, slowly sweeping forward.

After six back and forth sweeps of the lights, a series of numbers came up on a holographic screen, showing Mana how much of her LCL was used and needed to be filtered. "Only twenty-three percent? I guess that means the hallucination was caused by something else," Mana said to herself.

As she sat back in her seat, she brought up the main screen again and looked around at the darkness of the void around her Eva. "Where the hell am I?" she asked rhetorically as her Eva floated through the darkness, before switching the Eva's vision mode to another setting. A red filter soon came on the screen, showing the same thing. Mana switched to another vision mode, causing a blue filter to appear, this time with yellow outlines of various objects, most of which appeared to be pieces of rubble floating alongside the Eva, along with part of the power cable floating around.

"Well... shit."

* * *

**NERV HQ, Strategy Room B-20, Three Hours Later...**

Ritsuko sighed in hesitation as she prepared to lay out her plan to everyone. "After reviewing the available data, the MAGI have determined that the best solution to both destroying the Angel and forcing it to release Unit Four is to drop a payload of fifty N-Two mines into the Dirac Sea, with two Evas standing by to use their A.T. Fields to keep the energy contained as a way of minimizing collateral damage and increasing the internal pressure of the explosion against the interior of the Angel," Ritsuko said.

"Unit Four is capable of producing an A.T. Field with the strength to withstand at least  _sixty_  N-Two mines going off simultaneously, so there's very little risk of the Eva being damaged... except for the fact that Kirishima's sync rate has dropped significantly, meaning that she may not be able to fully extend or deploy her A.T. Field to the strength necessary to protect the Eva," Ritsuko said regretfully.

"Is this the  _only_  option?" Misato asked nervously. Ritsuko nodded her head reluctantly in response.

"I'm afraid so. It's the only option with a chance for success that's above fifteen percent," Ritsuko said.

"Fuck!" Mari swore indignantly.

"Warrant Officer Makinami, please restrain yourself," Gendo reprimanded calmly.

"The MAGI have run simulation after simulation based on the available data, and not just our MAGI, but also the MAGI from Berlin, Hamburg, Matsushiro, Beijing, and even Massachusetts," Ritsuko added. "This is the absolute best chance that we have at the moment," she said once more.

"Unfortunate, but it seems I will need to give this information to the Committee," Gendo said as he stood up. "I will let you know if they approve of the plan as soon as they get back to me. Everyone is dismissed," Gendo said brusquely.

As everyone else cleared the room, Gendo remained behind with Ritsuko and Fuyutsuki. Misato stood by the door for a moment to linger, before she stepped outside, closing the door behind her. With a sigh, Fuyutsuki shook his head in dismay. "Ikari, do you think it is wise to tell the Committee about this plan?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.

"It is our only option, Professor," Gendo replied tersely. "We know that SEELE sabotaged the S-Two engine used in Nevada, and now they have a perfect opportunity to rid themselves of Unit Four-Beta as well. It is quite likely that the other MAGI have already formulated this exact plan and presented it to their spies over in Berlin. If we do not inform them of this plan, they will ask us why we did not do so when we had the chance after they discover it for themselves, if they don't already know about it. With SEELE already directing members of the United Nations to begin reconsidering our funding due to Jet Alone's success, we need to be compliant with them until Unit Three is sent our way," Gendo said.

"I'll begin working on an alternative. I'll see if there's something we can do to retrieve Unit Four from the Angel," Ritsuko said. Gendo nodded his head in approval.

"Please do, Ritsuko. Despite SEELE's distaste for the Eva, I believe it will be quite useful to us in the future, given its currently unique capabilities. If we are forced to abandon any alternatives, however... please do not inform me until after you have discussed them with Major Katsuragi and have already attempted to put them into motion. I cannot say no to a plan that I have not been informed of. And so long as Katsuragi does not know that the Committee will want Plan A adhered to, we can claim that she was acting in ignorance when she inadvertently angers the Committee by rescuing Unit Four using whatever plan you have come up with," Gendo said.

Ritsuko nodded her head. "I understand. Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me," Ritsuko said as she walked away and exited the room.

**Gendo Ikari's Office, Two Hours Later...**

The lights in Ikari's office had just returned to normal when Misato came barging in, sweat pouring down her face and a look of furious anger spread across her features. "Major Katsuragi?" Gendo asked, raising an eyebrow. There was only one reason for Misato to be this angry, but Gendo knew that Ritsuko would never disobey an order from him, so who could have told her?

"Commander, I just got off the phone with the local JSSDF forces, and their commanding officer told me that the UN Oversight Committee has already approved and even  _ordered_  Ritsuko's plan into action! Not only that, but they've ordered that we  _increase_  the number of N-Two mines from fifty to  _eighty!_  They haven't even given us time to find an alternative!" Misato raged.

"Indeed, Major. I have just received the news as well, mere moments before you entered the office," Gendo said, technically telling the truth about receiving the news, although it had been through a holographic virtual conference with SEELE rather than by telephone.

"Isn't there anything we can do!?" Misato asked him.

"I'm afraid not, Major. The Committee has authority over us. Furthermore, as I have already mentioned, the success of Jet Alone has caused the Committee and the rest of the UN to begin reconsidering our funding. If we go against them from this point forward, they can easily make life very difficult for all of us," Gendo said.

Misato's face dropped in disbelief. "But... Kirishima's life is at stake! I was willing to hold my tongue at Ritsuko's initial proposal, but nearly  _doubling_  the number of N-Two mines!? Commander, that will completely  _destroy_  Eva Unit Four, not to mention  _kill_  Kirishima!" Misato shot back. Gendo remained outwardly impassive.

"I understand, Major. The loss of even  _one_  pilot is a major blow to the security of the world against the threat posed by the Angels," Gendo replied calmly with a tone of indifference. Misato very briefly considered slapping the man before reconsidering it.

 _He probably wouldn't even feel it anyway_ , she told herself mentally. "Commander, if Ritsuko can find another solution, can't we present that to the Committee and ask them to reconsider their position on this plan?" Misato asked Gendo.

"I actually asked them that very question myself, Major. And, this may surprise you, but the Committee is even less considerate of others than I am. You have my sympathies, Major, but at this point our hands are tied. The only possible alternative we can hope for is that Corporal Kirishima manages to free herself from the Angel before the JSSDF can begin their run. The run itself is scheduled for tomorrow at twelve o'clock noon," Gendo said.

Misato began to tremble and shake with rage as she processed Gendo's words. "I understand, Commander," she said through gritted teeth. "What do I tell the pilots?" she asked him.

"The truth," Gendo said simply.

"I see," Misato said, doing her best to restrain herself from yelling out in anger at the man in front of her for being so dispassionate. "This... this isn't right," Misato said, her voice hitching.

"I am aware, Major. You have my condolences," Gendo said without any emotion in his voice.

Misato nodded her head and then turned around, marching herself over to the door and exiting the room quietly.

Keeping his gloved hands fixed in front of his face, Gendo let out a sigh. "All we can do now, Professor, is wait and see what happens. If we go against the Committee, they will make things extremely difficult for us, and if we do not go against them, we will lose one of the most versatile weapons we have against them and the Angels," Gendo said, his brows furrowed in contemplation and annoyance.

* * *

**The Dirac Sea...**

Mana was curled up in her seat, lightly snoring as she tried to sleep so as to make things easier on her Eva's life support systems. She was soon woken up by the feeling of someone gently rubbing her shoulder. "Mmmng. Five more minutes," Mana said groggily.

" _ **Mana... you need to wake up. You're in danger. Wake up**_ ," a familiar voice, one that Mana had not heard in years, said to her. "W-What?" Mana asked, opening her eyes to see a blurry image of a Japanese man standing in front of her, wearing a plug suit similar to her own, with a head of short-cropped red hair. "P-Papa?" Mana asked as she rubbed her eyes to clear her vision, wondering how her father's soul could manifest itself like this. She'd felt his presence in the entry plug with her on certain occasions before, but never like this.

"D-Dad? Dad, why can I see you?" Mana asked her father's soul. " _ **Mana, don't let it trick you. No matter what form it takes, do not accept its words. See through it for what it really is**_ ," the soul of Takuya Kirishima said. Mana hesitantly reached out for the apparition of her father, trying to wrap her arms around him.

"D-Dad? Dad!?" Mana asked tearfully, paying her father's words no mind at all. She felt a slight thickness in the LCL when her hands made contact with him, and she recognized his presence when she did so. "Dad! I knew it! I knew you were in here!" Mana cried out as she leaned forward and tried to hug her father's soul.

"You said you'd always be with me, even if I couldn't see you!" Mana cried joyously as tears ran down her cheeks. Takuya looked at his daughter with regret. " _ **Mana... Please. There isn't much time. You're still asleep, but you need to wake up so that you can fight back and survive. Mana, do you understand me?**_ " Takuya asked his daughter.

"I... I guess so. But... will I see you like this when I'm awake?" Mana asked her father. Takuya shook his head. " _ **The mind doesn't always see clearly with the eyes open, Mana. But remember, I'm still here with you. Even if you can't see me**_ ," Takuya said.

"Dad?" Mana asked her father. "I... I missed you," Mana said. Takuya nodded his head before leaning down to kiss his daughter on the forehead. " _ **I know. I miss you too. But... Mana, you have to be strong. You need to be strong and survive. Now, please wake up. I'll still be here, just not in a way that you can see**_ ," Takuya said.

Mana reluctantly nodded her head. "Dad... I love you," Mana said with a tearful smile. " _ **I love you too, Mana**_ ," Takuya said, before he disappeared.

And then Mana opened her eyes and looked around the entry plug. "Was that... a dream?" she asked herself before she stretched her limbs. She quickly activated the main screen of the entry plug again, before setting it back to the previous vision mode. She soon regretted her decision, as she saw yellow outlines of the remains of Unit 04-Alpha cocooned to a chuck of rock with some strange blue substance.

Half of Unit 04-Alpha's left arm was gone, while only its upper torso, neck, head, and right arm and hand remained fully intact. The area where the entry plug was located had been vaporized by whatever had exploded inside of it, while the only remains of its lower regions were its left foot and ankle, and part of its right calf, stuck to a large chunk of metal wall by some blue resin. The Eva's mouth and eyes were wide open, with its tongue hanging out of its mouth and its eyes rolled back into its head, evoking some kind of twisted agony that it had experienced during its final moments.

Turning the Eva's head, Mana saw more debris from Second Branch, all stuck together with a strange blue resin coating everything. Mana's eyes widened in horror and apprehension as she saw the charred remains of NERV personnel glued to each other and parts of debris by the strange resin, with no rhyme or reason as to who or what was coated. "W-What is this!? Where the hell am I!?" Mana screamed.

She kept turning the Eva's head, seeing more ghastly sights, including gnarled metal rails and computers mashed together with the gooey blue resin. It reminded her of the secreted resin of the alien hive in her favorite movie, but bright blue in color, and less biomechanical. "This can't be real," Mana whimpered to herself.

Security guards, technicians, and even various civilians who had been living in Perfection Valley were all glued to chunks of debris in the far distance beyond Second Branches remains, which Mana was solely focused on. Not even her worst nightmares had prepared her for what she was seeing now. Everyone and everything that she had ever known and loved had been transported into the Dirac Sea before being twisted and mangled by the Angel as it absorbed them all into itself.

"None of this can be real!" she screamed as she saw the unmistakable remains of Lieutenant Colonel Conrad Barnes glued together with the remains of other NERV personnel, including a hand with a familiar wedding ring on it. "M-Mom? Mom... no," Mana whimpered. "Dad... Dad, I need you!" Mana cried out.

Mana closed her eyes and squeezed them shut, hoping that she was merely hallucinating. And then she opened her eyes again and they widened once more in horror. All of the space around her Eva was a macabre quilt of nightmarish horrors.

Charred faces stuck out from swirling strands of blue tethers wrapped around bodies and metal plates. Intact faces showed expressions of horror and confusion, while some of them had blue tendrils invading their orifices, while some bodies appeared to be a mixture of machinery, blue resin, and human flesh. Tattered uniforms clung to half-vaporized torsos and limbs that were stuck to safety rails and shards of glass, while some bodies were curled and contorted unnaturally as a result of being pushed by the force of the explosion into whatever they had been partially melted into, with blue resin and tendrils melding everything together.

"Please, let this be a nightmare! I don't want this to be real! I-I want to get out of here! Please, Dad! Help me!" Mana cried out in fear and sorrow. "Please! I don't want to be here anymore!"

* * *

**NERV HQ, 07:00 Wednesday Morning, July 29, 2043**

Sitting in one of the conference rooms, the remaining pilots had all been gathered after waking up. At first, they were all under the impression that a new plan had been formulated to save Mana from the Angel, and as such they had all changed into new plug suits as quickly as possible before assembling in the conference room, only for Misato to tell them the horrible truth. "That's bullshit!" Shinji screamed indignantly after Misato finished relaying the news.

"I know, but there's nothing more we can do at this point," Misato said firmly, forcing herself to play her role as the dutiful superior officer.

"No! There has to be something else we can do! There has to be!" Shinji shot back, prompting Asuka to grab him by the arm.

"Corporal Ikari... restrain yourself," Asuka said with downcast eyes. "Misato's right. There's nothing more we can do at this point for Corporal Kirishima. We have our orders from higher up," Asuka said somberly.

Shinji looked at her aghast. "I don't believe this. Don't you  _care!?_ " Shinji asked her. "You're the one who ordered her to engage her A.T. Field and alert the Angel to her presence in the first place! Shouldn't you feel  _something_  over that!?" Shinji asked her incredulously.

"Of course I fucking do!" Asuka snapped at him, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "Of course I feel responsible, but my chance to do anything about it has already been taken away! There's nothing  _any of us_  can do at this point!" Asuka yelled at him.

Meanwhile, Toji, Mari, and Rei sat silently as they listened to Shinji and Asuka argue, while Misato was on the verge of a breakdown herself. Finally, Shinji turned to face Misato. "Misato, can't you find some way to buy us more time to figure something out!?" Shinji begged of her.

"No," Misato said sternly. "I'm sorry, Shinji, but... w-we have our orders," Misato forced herself to say. She felt a small piece of her dying inside as soon as those words left her mouth.

Shinji's shoulders slumped. "I see. Following your orders is more important to you than doing what's right," Shinji said, causing Misato's eyes to widen.

"Shinji, do not even  _try_  to pull that with me," Misato said with a warning tone and a glare.

"It's fine. I need to get some air anyway," Shinji said as he walked over to the door, a scowl marring his face.

Rei got up from her seat and followed him out of the room, jogging to catch up with him in the hallway. As Shinji made his way down the corridor, with no particular destination in mind, he felt his breath hitch as tears stung his eyes. He soon stopped walking and slammed a fist against the wall.

"Fuck!" Shinji swore angrily.

"Shinji, that wall did nothing to deserve your wrath," Rei said in a worried voice. Shinji glanced over in her direction with a tired and worn expression, before turning himself and slumping back against the wall.

"I... I don't know what to do, Rei," Shinji said in a defeated tone of voice. "I just... I just  _know_  that this isn't the only option, but nobody wants to think otherwise!" Shinji whined. "It isn't right!" he snarled.

Rei walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Shinji... we must review the facts and come to terms with our situation. I... I do not know how to give you the comfort that you need, for I need comfort as well. In the past, I have always told myself to review the facts before me and simply accept reality for what it was," Rei said solemnly. Her emotions had become far more pronounced in the time since Shinji had first met the blue-haired girl.

"Okay, let's go over the facts," Shinji said reluctantly. "The Angel has an inverted A.T. Field, meaning that only a tremendous release of energy will bring it down from the inside. Wait... inverted... from the inside?" Shinji muttered in contemplation.

Rei raised an eyebrow. "Shinji?" Rei asked him.

"Rei... I think I have an idea," Shinji said as a smile began to form on his lips. He turned to face Rei and grabbed her shoulders. "I have an idea, Rei! I've got a plan to save Mana!" Shinji exclaimed ecstatically. "But... I need to see Doctor Akagi, or even Lieutenant Ibuki first. Rei, let's go find them!" Shinji urged as he turned around and began jogging through the corridor, gesturing for Rei to follow him. Rei nodded her head and began jogging to catch up with him.

**Doctor Akagi's Main Lab, Ten Minutes Later...**

Ritsuko tiredly sipped her coffee as the door to her lab slid open, prompting Maya Ibuki to pause as she sipped her own coffee as well. "Pilot Ikari, Ayanami?" Ritsuko asked tiredly with a sigh as she propped an elbow on the table and rested her chin on her knuckles.

"Doctor Akagi, I have a plan to save Kirishima-san!" Shinji exclaimed, panting from jogging al the way to the lab.

"Shinji, please. The MAGI have already gone over every scenario we can think of. There's nothing else we can do, and the United Nations Oversight Committee has already ordered the plan to be put into action," Ritsuko said with regret in her voice.

"Are you  _sure?_  Can't you at least hear me out?" Shinji asked her. Ritsuko shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Shinji. But I'm tired, and..." Ritsuko trailed off after seeing Rei's pleading eyes, something she had only seen once before. "Okay, let's hear it," Ritsuko said.

"All right! Now, the Angel's A.T. Field is inverted, right?" Shinji asked her.

"Yeah, we've already established that," Ritsuko said grumpily.

"So, it can't be cancelled out by another A.T. Field from an outside direction going in, right?" Shinji asked her.

"Yes, Shinji. That's what it means!" Ritsuko replied in annoyance.

"But what about an A.T. Field engaging it from the  _inside?_  What if an Evangelion already inside the Angel were to extend its A.T. Field? Wouldn't it then begin neutralizing it the way they normally do?" Shinji asked. Maya's eyes widened at the young man's words.

"Hey, he's got a good idea, Sempai!" Maya chimed in.

"Shinji, that's nice, but we've already run the calculations through the MAGI. Unit 04's A.T. Field at maximum strength won't cut it, and especially not with Mana's sync rate being what it's been since the destruction of Second Branch. I don't think she'd even know to do that without someone telling her, and we can't communicate with her through the Dirac Sea," Ritsuko said solemnly.

Shinji's face fell as he absorbed Ritsuko's words. "What if there were  _two_  Evas in the Dirac Sea? Could two Evas extending their A.T. Fields at maximum strength be enough to neutralize the Angel's field and rip it apart from the inside?" Shinji asked her.

A thoughtful expression crossed Ritsuko's face as she gave Shinji's question some consideration. When she remembered the fact that Unit 01 was slowly developing its own S2 organ, thanks to the Angel it had eaten months earlier, she realized that the chances of success were actually well within Shinji's favor. "Well... theoretically, yes. But good luck getting the commander to agree to that," Ritsuko said with a sigh.

"Look, the bombing run doesn't start until noon, right? We've got plenty of time to try this! Besides, Kirishima-san would do the same thing if it were one of us in there instead of her!" Shinji pleaded.

"Look, Shinji... I'm sorry," Ritsuko said, before she saw Rei and Maya both looking at her with sad expressions. "Alright, let's go speak with Gen-I mean, Commander Ikari and see what he thinks of the plan," Ritsuko said, prompting Shinji and Rei to smile at her before they began following Ritsuko out of the lab and into the corridor, heading for an elevator to take them up to the level where Gendo's office was located.

**Gendo Ikari's Office, Ten Minutes Later...**

"No," Gendo said bluntly. Rei, Shinji, and Ritsuko stood there silently. Shinji glared at his father in anger, and Rei finally began to contemplate a question that Mana had asked her months earlier.

_If you had to choose..._

"But... Commander!" Shinji pleaded.

"I said no, Corporal. The Committee has already handed out its orders, and we cannot afford to disobey them at this time, despite the magnitude of the loss we may incur as a result of their admittedly less than ideal approach to the situation. Again, we have our orders," Gendo said, keeping his face hidden from view with his gloved hands in his usual posture.

"You're a heartless bastard," Shinji spat at his father. "I can't even begin to imagine what Mother  _ever_  saw in you. What would she think if she were here now to see you callously play with someone's life like this? I bet she wouldn't even recognize you," Shinji said while glaring at his father. Gendo visibly reacted by glaring back, even if his glare was hidden by his glasses.

"Corporal Ikari... you may leave this room whenever you like," Gendo said coldly, failing at hiding the anger building within him.

"Fine. I'll do that," Shinji said with an edge to his voice as he turned around and walked away, not once looking back in his father's direction.

Rei looked back and forth between Shinji and Gendo.

_If you had to choose..._

"Rei?" Gendo asked as he saw the confusion marking the girl's face. Rei turned to look at him with wide eyes.

_The man who was given me a purpose... or the boy who has filled me with joy and life? The boy who has risked his life to protect mine, and has told me that my life is worth living, regardless of my origins? Or the man who has kept me on a leash like an animal for most of my existence? Who would have me... die... for his own selfishness? The boy who would risk his life to protect others, or the man who would sacrifice everyone for himself?_

Rei looked at Gendo softly at first. "Commander, are you certain that we cannot make an attempt to save Corporal Kirishima's life?" Rei asked him, hoping for something positive to come from the man.

"I am certain," Gendo replied bluntly. His tone brokered no room for argument.

Rei's features hardened. "I have made my choice then," she said, causing Gendo, Fuyutsuki, and Ritsuko to each raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Your... choice?" Ritsuko asked her. Gendo and Fuyutsuki both looked at Rei inquisitively.

"Yes. Some time ago, Corporal Kirishima asked me a very personal question. At the time, I did not have an answer for her. Now... I  _do_ ," Rei said firmly as she turned around and began walking away, not once looking back at the confused adults behind her.

"What was  _that_  all about?" Ritsuko asked rhetorically as Rei exited the room.

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Rei began running as she saw Shinji turn a corner in the distance. "Shinji!" Rei shouted as she tried to catch up with him. As she reached the corner, she saw Shinji standing in place, an odd look on his face.

"Rei? What are you doing?" Shinji asked her as she panted to catch her breath.

"Sh-Shinji! Where are you going right now?" Rei asked him.

"I'm going to see Lieutenant Ibuki about something important. You don't have to come along," Shinji replied.

"Shinji... what are you planning?" Rei asked him, as she was aware that Maya had the access codes to launch the Evangelions while also having technical knowledge similar to that of Ritsuko. "Shinji... Lieutenant Ibuki has the access codes to launch the Evas. Is that why you're going to see her?" Rei asked Shinji.

Shinji stopped walking and turned back to look at Rei, his face hardened with resolve. "Oh, really? I had no idea," Shinji responded sarcastically.

"Shinji, I know you are being facetious," Rei said in response, crossing her arms and striking a pose that Shinji  _knew_  Rei has seen Asuka do at some point.

"The Commander said no," Shinji said in a deadpan manner.

"Yes, he did. I am therefore joining you to save Kirishima anyway," Rei said, causing Shinji to widen his eyes.

"R-Rei? But... I thought you took everything my father said as law," he stammered.

"I did... at one point. However... recent events have brought certain things to light which I cannot ignore," Rei said vaguely. "I will follow your lead until the end, Shinji," Rei said sincerely. A small blush rose to Shinji's face, and Rei found it cute.

"Okay then. But... we should wait at least a little bit before we do anything. My father may expect me to try something right away, so he might have security on alert. We should still go see Lieutenant Ibuki right now, anyway, though, to start planning things out," Shinji said, not knowing if this was indeed true, but also not putting it past his father anyway. Rei nodded her head in agreement and followed him down the corridor, both of them unaware that Kaji had been watching them from the shadows, listening to every word.

* * *

**Deep Inside NERV HQ, 11:00 AM...**

Misato Katsuragi sighed in defeat as she looked at the clock on the wall of her office. She looked back down at her half-eaten sandwich, which Makoto had given to her for lunch while he helped her out with some paperwork. Makoto was still in the room with her, working on papers when a strange sound emanated from the door to the room.

"What was that?" Makoto asked as he looked around, only for Misato to gasp as she saw the red light above her door, indicating that had been locked from the outside.

"What the hell!?" Misato shrieked as she ran around her desk and pounded a fist against the door. "Hey, what's going on here!?" Misato asked as she tried to open the door. Meanwhile, the person who had locked the door strode away from it, whistling to himself.

Around this time Shinji and Rei were both making their way through the corridors of the base, jogging around corners as they made their way to the locker rooms, where they would have easy access to the Eva holding cages. "Think anyone's noticed that the security cameras are down yet?" Shinji asked Rei.

"We have about three minutes at the most before Security notices that the footage on their monitors is being looped," Rei said as she jogged alongside Shinji, both of them still clad in their plug suits.

The two pilots continued jogging through the corridors, doing their best to avoid security as Rei navigated them. "Are you sure this is the safest way there?" Shinji asked Rei as they made their way to a stairwell.

"Yes! If we use elevators, they will be shut down remotely to halt our progress," Rei replied, her eyes glancing back and forth for signs of trouble as she and Shinji made their way up the stairs until they reached their desired floor. After exiting the stairwell, the duo continued jogging down the corridor before turning another corner.

"What the!?" Shigeru Aoba cried out as Shinji knocked into him by accident. "Ow!" Aoba said with a wince as he fell back against the floor.

"Sorry!" Shinji apologized as Rei helped pull him up from the floor. The duo quickly resumed jogging, which soon turned into all out running as they heard the security alarms begin blaring.

"Dammit! They're onto us!" Shinji swore as he and Rei turned another corner as they made their way to the pilots locker room.

**NERV HQ Command Center...**

Maya Ibuki watched the monitor in front of her carefully as she saw Shinji and Rei make their way to the locker room. She nervously glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching. Thankfully, no one was there. There were only a handful of people in the Command Center at the moment, and none of them were on her level.

However, with the security alarms blaring, she now began to feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing up ramrod straight. Every second that passed was an opportunity for her to get caught. And those chances only increased when she heard the sound of a door opening and saw Commander Ikari entering the Command Center on the very top level.

**In The Eva Holding Cages...**

"We're almost there!" Shinji exclaimed as he and Rei exited the entrance corridor and got onto the walkway. They quickly made their way down a set of stairs over toward some catwalks. "Rei! Use Unit Zero to buy me some time! I'll make the jump into the Angel!" Shinji shouted to her as she paused and looked at him. She quickly grabbed his wrist and squeezed it gently.

"Please... come back alive," Rei asked of him, her face expressing concern. Shinji nodded his head in response.

"Of course," he said, slightly confused, until he saw the blush on Rei's cheeks. There was an urge he wanted to give into right then and there, but he forced himself to remember their time limit. "I promise I'll come back alive," Shinji said with a confident smile as he put a hand on Rei's shoulder and squeezed it gently, before both of them parted ways and ran over to the entry plugs of their resepctive Evangelions.

As Shinji closed the hatch, he began the pre-launch auto-sequence. The Entry plug quickly slid into place in the Eva's torso, while the power cable was automatically attached to it by the machinery nearby. Shinji soon heard his father's voice over the Eva's com system. " _Shinji, what do you think you're doing?_ " Gendo asked him with a hint of anger in his voice.

"What am I doing? I'm doing the right thing and saving Kirishima's life. Not that you'd know what it means to do the right thing," Shinji replied as he initiated the electrolyzing of LCL as it began flooding the entry plug.

" _Shinji, if you do this... you may not ever be able to pilot the Eva again_ ," Gendo warned.

"If I  _don't_  do this, I won't be able to live with myself. Standing by while doing nothing is just as bad as running away!" Shinji shot back over the com.

" _Shinji, I order you to stand down and exit your Evangelion_ ," Gendo said over the com.

"Uh-huh. I hear ya," Shinji said dismissively as he continued the pre-launch sequence, moving his Eva into place and waiting for Maya to launch the deployment boxes.

" _Corporal Ikari, this is your last chance. Stand down, and I may give you a lenient punishment for your insubordination. You have your orders_ ," Gendo said.

Shinji saw the image of his father appearing on the screen in a small window. He raised a fist and uncurled his middle finger. "Fuck your orders and  _ **FUCK YOU!**_ " Shinji spat, years of resentment and anger finally boiling to the surface. He then closed the com channel and set it to private.

As soon as he was in position, he felt the deployment box lift up into the deployment shaft.

**NERV HQ Command Center...**

"Who unlocked the deployment shafts?" Gendo asked as he looked around the room.

Slowly, Maya Ibuki stood up from her seat and looked Gendo in the eyes. "I did, Sir," Maya said simply.

"Lieutenant Ibuki, would you mind telling me just why you risked your career like this?" Gendo asked her coldly.

"It's the right thing to do," Maya said simply.

"I see..." Gendo said. "For your sake, Lieutenant, Corporal Ikari's plan had better work. If it does not work, then you will find yourself without a job before the end of the night," he added with a glare and a frown. Maya nodded her head slowly in response.

"Commander, Unit Zero is also launching!" another bridge bunny reported from a different deck.

"Unit... Zero? Rei?" Gendo asked in disbelief. "Patch me through to her, now," he said.

" _Commander Ikari_ ," Rei stated. Her image was present on the main screen from inside the entry plug.

"Rei... are you attempting to apprehend Corporal Ikari?" Gendo asked her.

" _Negative. I am assisting Corporal Ikari in his rescue effort. We have run the simulations through the MAGI, and Shinji's plan has a greater chance of success than the plan presented by Doctor Akagi and the Oversight Committee_ ," Rei stated.

"Rei... we have our orders," Gendo said firmly, and begrudgingly.

" _I am aware of that. I am also aware that some orders are not worth following. However, if I cannot receive any orders to begin with, then I cannot disobey them either_ ," Rei said, just before she cut the communication feed.

"Rei?" Gendo asked as he looked at the blank screen.

"She's cut us off, sir," Maya said. Gendo's left eye began to twitch.

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Topside...**

Shinji braced himself as Unit 01 rocketed to the surface. As soon as he was clear, he pushed Unit 01 forward out of the box and ran towards the black shadow across the center of the city. In the distance, he saw Unit 00 making its way in their direction. "Rei! I need you to hold off anyone who tries to stop me, okay?" Shinji said as he started turning the Eva around and grabbing the power cable, twirling it around the Eva's waist before a sizable length was in Unit 01's hands.

"Okay. Rei... I'm coming back. I promise!" Shinji shouted before he forced Unit 01 to run over and leapt into the dark disc. He deployed Unit 01's A.T. Field, causing the Angel to react and pull him in. "Just hold on, Kirishima. I'm coming to get ya."

* * *

**The Dirac Sea...**

Inside the entry plug of Unit 04, Mana checked the instrument panel in front her before leaning back and letting out a soft whimper as she pulled her legs up to her chest. She looked across from her seat and saw the younger version of herself appear again. "What do  _you_  want?" Mana spat at the Angel.

" **Why do you pilot Eva?** " Leliel-Mana asked.

"If I don't, monsters like you will eradicate all Lilith-based life on this planet, and we wish to continue existing," Mana replied.

Leliel-Mana seemed taken back by this response.

" **I wish to continue existing as well. But... if the only way for me to unite with Father and Lilith will cause you to cease being, then I am sorry. However... I do not intend to change my plans. I do not wish to be alone anymore. My siblings are dwindling. I do have company in the form of those who merged with me during my birth, but none of them are as you are. None of them can talk back** ," Leliel said, before it changed forms.

Mana's eyes widened as a large, barrel-chested black man with a mustache stood in front of her.

" **They can't really do much. Sure, I can probe their brains and jump start some neurons to get information, but it's not the same as talking with you, Mana** ," Leliel-Barnes said.

Mana scowled at the Angel. "And what if I refuse to talk with you?" Mana asked Leliel.

Leliel changed shape again, this time taking on the form of Aoi Kirishima, causing Mana to frown. " **I don't think you'll do that** ," Leliel said with a smile.

"You... you drop that form right now! RIGHT NOW!" Mana screamed at Leliel.

" **The memories this one had... were full of you and another. This Lilin was quite fond of you. You came from her... and the other that she thought of** ," Leliel said.

"It's called sexual reproduction. It's the basis of all life on Earth," Mana spat. "It's integral to the evolution of all species on this planet," she added.

" **Yes. That is how it is for all life seeded on each world chosen by our makers. After all, we are the seeds of life planted here by ADAM, and we are all different from one another. Even more so are those of us planted by other SEEDs on other worlds, for there are those who bear the Fruit of Knowledge, such as Lilith and her offspring, which would be** _ **you**_ **, those who bear the Fruit of Life, such as Father and myself, among others, and even those who bear the Fruit of Wisdom, such as those who made Father and Lilith** ," Leliel-Aoi said.

"Planted? Seeds of life? Fruit of Wisdom? What the hell is all of this Bible study bullshit?" Mana asked the Angel curiously.

" **Didn't Lilith keep the texts intact for her offspring to read once they had evolved to the point that they could understand them?** " Leliel-Aoi asked Mana.

"Texts? Do you mean... the Dead Sea Scrolls?" Mana asked Leliel, remembering what Kaji and Barnes had both told her in secret.

" **I do not understand what that means. But if that is your terminology for the texts, so be it** ," Leliel said.

"Hold on, you said that Adam planted you and the other Angels here on Earth. Who was here first, Adam or Lilith?" Mana asked the Angel.

" **ADAM came to Earth first, Lilin. We were all set to be planted, and one of us did get planted and awaken, just before Lilith crashed here by mistake. Her Spear of Longinus was either damaged or lost during the crash, and so ADAM put himself to sleep with his own Spear. It was promised to us that after Lilith's children had left this Earth, we could take it back for ourselves** ," Leliel said, her voice growing colder and more menacing with each word.

"If you're gonna get pissy, don't use my mother's form. Use something else," Mana demanded. Leliel-Aoi nodded her head in compliance, before changing to an equally aged Mana.

"Well... I guess that's better," Mana muttered tiredly.

" **We! Were! Promised! When Father's Spear was removed, it was the signal for us to awaken! So, why have you not left the Earth!? Why do you linger and stop us from taking what is ours!?** " Leliel-Mana shrieked at Mana with a scowl as she leaned forward, putting her face in front of Mana's face.

"I don't know! Okay!? I don't fucking know! Unless you mean Second Impact, which happened when Adamn's Lance was removed by accident!" Mana replied. "It was an accident, and we paid for it already with almost four billion of our own kind!" Mana continued.

"Our planet has been wrecked thanks to your father throwing a tantrum! And  _you_  want to reclaim it for yourselves!? Fuck  _you_  bitch!" Mana spat at the Angel with a scowl leaning forward, only for her head to pass through Leliel's head.

Mana then shook her head and sat back. "Oh god, I'm going crazy!" she whined. "I'm sitting here talking to myself while hallucinating," she moaned into her hands.

Leliel frowned at Mana before fading from view.

"I've lost it. Face it, Mana... you've  _lost_ ," Mana said to herself. "I've lost... pretty much everything, haven't I? I've lost my family. I've lost my home. I've lost my friends. I've lost my sanity. Heh. I guess all that's left to lose is my life," Mana said tiredly. She looked over at the LCL filter monitor. "But... that shouldn't be too far away now," she said to herself.

"I wonder... if it'll be painful?" she asked herself. "I could always... no. That's the coward's way out," Mana said as she remembered the water-proof gun she had hidden in a compartment inside the entry plug.

"What difference does it make, though?" she asked herself solemnly as her hope began to fade. "I'm gonna die in here," she moaned. "I didn't wanna go out like this," she whimpered as she pulled up a holographic display of her filtered LCL. She had six hours left before her recently filtered LCL supply would need to be changed, and she had no extra backup supplies stored in Unit 04 anywhere.

"I tried, Dad. I really did, but... there's nothing I can do," Mana whispered in defeat as she hung her head, resting her chin on her knees. "This is it. It's over. This is Corporal Mana Kirishima, pilot of Evangelion Unit Four-Beta, signing off," Mana said to no one in particular as she closed her eyes.

"Who am I kidding? Who's gonna care anyway?" Mana asked herself as tears began falling. "What's it gonna matter if I die in here? I mean... at least I'll be with everyone else in here... right?" Mana asked herself. She then looked at her main screen again. Seeing the blue resin-covered remains of her friends and family quickly changed that notion in her head.

"No. No, this isn't okay! I don't wanna die like this! I-I don't! But what other option is there? No one's going to save me, and there's nothing I can do to get myself out of here... I'm dead no matter what happens," she said quietly to herself, the tears streaking down her face as she nearly lost all hope.

"There's... just no way out," she told herself. "Crying about it won't do me any good, but... what else can I do at this point?" she asked herself before she looked at the timer for her LCL levels.

"Maybe I can just... go to sleep. I'll let it happen in my sleep. Should be peaceful to go out that way," Mana said with a frown. "I mean, what do I have to lose at this point?" she asked herself morosely.

" _Kirishima-san?_ "'

Mana raised her head up and looked at a small window in the corner of the entry plug screen, before tilting her head in confusion. "What the...?"

" _Kirishima-san!? Can you hear me!?_ " a desperate voice called out over the com.

"Now I'm hallucinating that too?" Mana asked herself, before she noticed that the light above the com was blinking. She wasn't hallucinating.

"I...Ikari-kun?" Mana asked skeptically over the com.

" _Kirishima-san! Kirishima-san!? Where are you!?_ " Shinji asked over the com.

"Uh... Purgatory, I think," Mana replied thoughtfully.

Mana slowly moved Unit 04 to grab some debris and stand on a large chunk of rock before turning itself around to look for signs of rescue. Switching over to the blue vision mode, Mana soon saw a yellow outline in the distance.

"I see you!" Mana gasped in shock. "I don't believe it! Ikari-kun, what the hell are you doing here!?" Mana asked as Unit 01 drifted closer to her position.

" _I'm here to rescue you! Why else would I be here!?_ " Shinji replied over the com.

She soon saw that a long segment of power cable was wrapped around the Eva's waist.

"What happened to your power cable?" Mana asked Shinji over the com.

" _It's part of my plan to get you out of here_ ," Shinji replied over the com.

"Your plan? Ikari-kun, there's no way out of here. You were better off staying outside and just letting me die in here," Mana said with a sigh. "Besides, you've probably only got like a minute of power left in there with your cable cut," Mana added.

" _Fuck that! There **is**  a way out of here, Kirishima-san! It just takes two of us to make it work! And for the record, I actually have... eight minutes left. I'm sure it'll go down once I stop drifting and put my plan into action, though_," Shinji replied confidently over the com, finally piquing Mana's interest.

"Okay... you sound pretty convinced of your own plan. Care to give me some details? I mean, since we're both stuck in here, and I've got about six hours of breathable LCL left," Mana replied.

" _Actually, no, Kirishima-san,_ _we don't have six hours to waste. At Twelve noon, the JSSDF is going to drop nearly eighty N-Two mines into the Angel to destroy it_ ," Shinji explained.

"They're gonna do  _WHAT!?_ " Mana asked him in disbelief.

" _Yeah. Look, the Angel has an inverted A.T. Field, so it behaves differently than the Angels we've fought before. You know that giant striped sphere we saw yesterday in the sky? That's the Angel's shadow!_ " Shinji explained.

Mana's jaw dropped. "You're shittin' me," Mana soon said in disbelief.

" _No, I'm not. Listen, Kirishima-san, I need you to deactivate your A.T. Field, and then wrap part of this power cable around your Eva, back to back with mine. I've drawn back my own A.T. Field as well_ ," Shinji said over the com.

"Hold on. You gotta explain this to me," Mana demanded over the com as Unit 01 drifted close enough for Unit 04 to reach out and grab its arm to pull it onto the rock. "Why do I need to deactivate my A.T. Field?" Mana asked.

" _The Angel's A.T. Field is inverted. You had your Field deployed when you passed through it, so it won't do anything to it right now. BUT, if you deactivate it and redeploy it before extending it as far as you can go at full strength, while I do the same thing, we can neutralize the Angel's A.T. Field and rip it apart from the inside!_ " Shinji explained.

"How long did it take for Doctor Akagi to make you understand this?" Mana asked him.

" _Actually, I was the one who came up with it_ ," Shinji replied over the com.

Mana's eyes widened in response. "You're joking. I know you do okay in school, but I've never taken you to be the type to understand how all of the stuff involving the Evas worked," Mana replied.

" _Well... it just seemed kind of obvious once I started thinking about it. And besides, it's better than the alternative, which is just dropping over eighty N-Two mines into the Angel and blasting it to pieces! It's the only other solution Doctor Akagi could come up with, because of the Angel's inverted A.T. Field. The UN Oversight Committe already ordered the JSSDF to go ahead with that plan by noon today! We have to hurry!_ " Shinji replied.

"So, tell me, Ikari-kun. If the JSSDF was already given the go ahead for that other plan, how did you get authorization for this one?" Mana asked over the com.

" _I didn't_ ," Shinji replied over the com. Mana's eyes widened.

"That doesn't seem like your style, Ikari-kun," Mana noted.

" _Well, I may have picked up some bad habits from a certain someone over the past few months_ ," Shinji replied over the com.

"Hm. I've taught you well. Okay, now, you're sure this will work?" Mana asked Shinji.

" _I'm positive. Besides, I promised Rei that I'd come back alive_ ," Shinji replied over the com.

Mana processed Shinji's words. "Ikari-kun... you are one crazy son of a bitch, you know that? Telling the girl you're rescuing that you promised to come back to a different girl? You've got  _balls_ , buddy," Mana said with a chuckle.

" _Thanks_ ," Shinji said over the com. " _Now, grab some of this power cable and wrap it around us both. We're getting out of here together_ ," Shinji said.

Mana did exactly as Shinji said and used Unit 04 to wrap the power cable around their Evas, both of which were now back to back with each other.

"Okay, preparing to deactivate A.T. Field," Mana said. " _Same here. Okay... ready?_ " Shinji asked her over the com. "Just about... now. A.T. Field deactivated," Mana said. " _Good. Now, on three, we both redeploy our Fields and extend them as far as possible, got it?_ " Shinji replied over the com. Mana soon saw Leliel-Mana appear in front of her again, frowning at her.

Mana simply smirked at the Angel in response. "I'm about to end your loneliness," Mana whispered, causing a confused look to appear on the Angel's face. "In just a few minutes," Mana whispered darkly.

" _One... two... THREE!_ " Shinji shouted over the com. Man and Shinji both deployed their A.T. Fields again, sending them out as far as they could go and raising their strength as high as possible, creating a strange orange ripple in the vacuum around them as their Fields impacted that of the Angel. Orange hexagons flashed brightly all over the interior of the Dirac Sea in an outwards direction, each flash appearing further and further away as Shinji and Mana continued to raise the strength and distance of their Eva's A.T. Fields.

Inside Shinji's entry plug, a younger version of himself wearing a black and white striped shirt appeared in front of him. Shinji's eyes widened in confusion at this apparition. " **Why do you pilot Eva?** " it asked him. " **What is the purpose of your actions?** " the apparition asked him. Shinji began to feel his confidence lowering as this younger version of himself stared at him with dull gray eyes and a frown on its face.

"Hey, Mana!?" Shinji shouted over the com. " _Yeah?_ " Mana replied.

"I think we need to push harder and faster! I'm starting to hallucinate in here!" Shinji cried out.

" _That's just the Angel trying to fuck with you! Ignore it!_ " Mana replied over the com.

Inside Mana's entry plug, Leliel-Mana reappeared and glared at her before she suddenly clutched at her head in pain. She then looked at Mana with wide eyes. " **No! No, not like this!** " Leliel-Mana roared as she lunged for Mana, her hands phasing right through the girl. Leliel-Mana stepped back as a fearful expression came over her face. Mana simply smirked at her before giving her the finger.

"Sayonara sucker," Mana quipped.

Outside the entry plugs, the two Evas' eyes glowed as their A.T. Fields continued pushing against Leliel's, glowing orange and showing off hexagonal fields repeatedly as the Angel's Field began to crack. Orange flashes of light illuminated the Dirac Sea with every pulse of the A.T. Fields fighting against each other.

" _It's working! Mana, keep it up!_ " Shinji exclaimed over the com. "You got it!" Mana replied enthusiastically, causing Shinji to smile in his entry plug at hearing her expressing emotions again. "I'm gettin' out outta here," Mana said with a grin. "I'm gonna live! I'm gonna LIVE!"

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Topside...**

A frazzled and angry Misato stepped outside into a tent that had been set up by the JSSDF several miles away from Leliel's position. Unit 00 was standing by with Unit 02 and Unit 05, although Rei had refused to open up her communications lines to anyone so far. Misato frowned at the yellow and gray Eva.

"The nerve of those two... pulling a stunt like this," Misato growled.  _But it's exactly the kind of thing I would have done in their position as well_ , she thought to herself. Standing nearby, Gendo Ikari held watched the giant floating sphere impassively, although inside he felt a torrent of different emotions running through him, emotions that he hadn't felt in years.

Misato checked her watch. "It's almost time," she said with resignation in her voice.

"Hey! Look at that!" someone cried out as they pointed to the sphere, which was starting to darken in color as the shadow beneath it began rising up into air and melding into it. Soon, it began to warp, and something began trying to push out of it. "What is that!?" someone else asked in confusion.

Standing next to Gendo, Ritsuko's eyes widened. "The Evas! They're escaping!" Ritsuko exclaimed excitedly. Gendo's eyes widened as he glanced between Ritsuko and the sphere.

Soon enough, a bloody hand shot through the now darkened Angel's body, as did three more, sending red blood falling onto the streets below. Soon, the hands began ripping apart the Angel from the inside, and the two giant humanoids fell forth from their vacuum-like womb onto the streets below, their power cable rope coming loose as blood and debris from Second Branch rained down onto the streets with them.

Red blood flooded the streets and painted the sides of buildings. Large chunks of debris fro Second Branch crushed cars and bikes parked along the roads, while other vehicles were swept away by the tides of Angel blood flooding the streets. Blue resin-coated chunks of computer terminals and corpses fell down onto the streets like nightmarish rain, while two monolithic giants stood head and shoulders above it all, looking down upon the streets beneath them with glowing eyes.

Misato and the others covered their mouths in horror at the sight of so much blood flooding the streets. And then, Unit 01's eyes darkened, and she fell forward, just before Unit 04 reached over to catch her. Misato looked over at the radio on the table nearby before rushing over to it. "Attention, JSSDF squadron, this is Major Misato Katsuragi of NERV ordering you to abort the operation! I say again, abort the operation! Abort!" Misato shouted into the radio.

" _Affirmative, planes are turning around. We are... what the hell happened down there!?_ " came the voice of the squadron leader over the radio. Misato sighed and shook her head. "A miracle is what happened, sir. A fucking  _miracle_."

**Twenty Minutes Later...**

Stepping down onto the ground below, Mana looked up at the bright blue sky above and inhaled, smiling as she took her first breath of fresh non-recycled air in nearly a day. "Kirishima-san!" Shinji called out as he raced over to her from his Eva. Mana smiled at him as he rushed over, before he slipped on something and she had to catch him.

"Easy there, Tiger," she said as she helped straighten him up. Looking over Shinji's shoulder, Mana could see someone with a white outfit and blue hair approaching them, jogging. Mana smiled at the sight of Rei as she soon managed to reach them.

"Well, it looks like you kept your promise to her after all," Mana said to a now blushing Shinji. Shinji smiled and rubbed the back of his head as Rei finally stepped up to him.

"You came back," Rei said, a trembling smile forming on her face.

"I promised, didn't I?" Shinji asked her in response. Rei nodded her head, before launching herself at Shinji and hugging him tightly. "R-Rei!" Shinji stammered.

Mana chuckled at the scene. "Well? Hug her back, Dummy!" Mana encouraged him. Shinji followed Mana's advice and wrapped his arms around Rei, bringing her in close. Mana could see the smile on Rei's face as Shinji hugged her back.

When the duo finally pulled apart from each other, Shinji looked at Mana. "So, Kirishima-san? How are you feeling?" Shinji asked her.

Mana looked up at the sky before focusing her gaze onto Shinji's face again. "Well... better than I have been recently," she replied.

"So... are you gonna be okay?" Shinji asked her.

Mana sighed. "I... I think I might. Not right away, but... I think I'll get there in time," Mana replied with a smile. "Thanks, though. For risking your ass to save mine," Mana added with a slight nod of her head.

"That's what friends do. Besides, you'd have done the same thing for one of us," Shinji replied.

"Yeah, I would," Mana said softly with a smile.

The trio slowly began making their way over to the large group of JSSDF and NERV personnel gathered around the area, where an ambulance was waiting as well. As the trio got closer to the group of NERV and military personnel, Shinji saw his father looking at him with an unusual expression on his face. For the briefest of moments, Shinji thought he saw pride on his father's face, before he quickly dismissed the thought.

"Hey, Shin-man! Ya did it!" Toji's voice cried out as the backup pilot stepped forward. "I knew you could do it, man!" Toji said with a grin, before he heard someone clearing their throat as they stepped up next to him. "Uh-oh," Toji muttered as Misato stepped forward.

"Misato," Shinji said, staring her in the eyes.

"Corporal Ikari," Misato replied. She then glanced over at Rei, before finally settling her focus on Mana. "Corporal Kirishima. How are you feeling?" Misato asked the girl.

Mana glanced between Shinji and Rei before looking back at Misato. "Well... better than the last couple weeks.  _A lot better_."

* * *

**ENDING THEME: Fly Me To The Moon (Aki Jungle Mix), by Aki.**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Shinji and the rest of NERV are questioned by the Oversight Committee regarding Shinji's unauthorized rescue operation. Meanwhile, a geological survey team near Mount Asama has discovered something unusual residing within the dormant volcano.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: This was episode 14, and holy shit! This episode was a whopper!
> 
> So, like I said, Shinji is now furthering his character development, as is Rei. Also, since Mana has been the focus of the past few episodes, the next one will center primarily on the other pilots, since I think I've given Mana more than enough screen time by this point.
> 
> Also, I originally planned to have a subplot concerning Mana attempting to commit suicide, only to be found and stopped by Kaji, but I removed it because it just left a bad taste in my mouth.
> 
> Also, as some of you may have noticed, Gendo is starting to... change.
> 
> And, as I mentinoned earlier, this episode does have a conspiracy vibe to it, as SEELE sees the use of excessive force to destroy Leliel as the perfect way to destroy Unit 04-Beta without exposing themselves. Meanwhile, Gendo actually wants to retrieve Unit 04-Beta intact for his own purposes, as the Eva gives him an ace to hold over SEELE.
> 
> Also, you may have noticed that I've switched the order of certain Angels, with Leliel appearing before Sandalphon, who will appear in the next episode.
> 
> As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of the episode and/or story so far in your reviews!


	15. Trial By Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following Mana's rescue from Leliel, the bond between pilots grows deeper. Meanwhile, deep in Mount Asama, a new Angel has been discovered while hibernating.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

Well, the previous episode marked a turning point in Shinji's character development, as he finally became a hero. And Rei finally began casting off the shackles of loyalty she so strongly held for Gendo, albeit one piece at a time. For anyone wondering why Leliel didn't take the form of Harold Wagner after assuming the forms of Lieutenant Colonel Barnes and Aoi Kirishima in front of Mana, it's because Harold's body was completely obliterated by the energy released from the Angel's birth, since he was practically sitting within a few meters of the thing while in his entry plug. He suffered the least out of everyone who was killed. Also, Harold Wagner is the second Eva pilot to die from interacting with an Angel so far.

Wait, what's that? The  _second?_  Yes, for Shinji has already died once, in Episode 05, although he  _was_  revived afterwards. Technically, though, while Harold is the first pilot to die  _permanently_ , Shinji was the first pilot to die  _period_  thanks to an Angel. I'm not sure how to count Rei-II because... cloning and stuff, but Rei-I's death wasn't directly or indirectly caused by an interaction with an Angel, so... she doesn't count, at least for this particular list.

Also, yes, Gendo felt a small bit of pride toward his son, but mostly because Shinji unwittingly played right into his hands by disobeying orders to rescue Unit 04, thus solving Gendo's predicament of not deliberately going against SEELE yet also preventing the destruction of Unit 04 by their hands. Now, this is important, Gendo did  _not_  anticipate Rei disobeying him. He may have anticipated her  _feeling uncomfortable_  with the idea of letting a fellow pilot die, but he did  _not_  expect Rei to actually  _go against his orders_  on any level.

Because of this, and some slowly developing romantic feelings he has for Ritsuko, Gendo is slowly undergoing a metamorphosis... into being human again. Be warned, though, it is a  _slow_  change, and I fully intend on portraying him as he is in canon as much as possible at least until that change is half-way complete.

Music I listened to while writing this episode includes  _Neon Genesis Evangelion OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu & Masamichi Amano & Yoichi Murata,  _Gamera: The Guardian Of The Universe_  (1995) by Koh Ohtani,  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Die Hard With A Vengeance_  (1995) by the late Michael Kamen, and  _Kare Kano_  (1998) by Shiro Sagisu.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _Ritsuko_ ,  _Hostility Restrained_ ,  _Rei-I_ ,  _Harbinger Of Tragedy_ ,  _Eva-00_ ,  _Magmadiver_ ,  _Eva-01_ ,  _Misato_ ,  _Separation Anxiety_ ,

Music From  _Evangelion S2 Works_  (1998):  _E-15 Magma Diver_ ,  _E-15 Rhythm Only_ ,  _E-15 Fast Tempo_ ,  _E-15 Fast Tempo, Rhythm Only_ ,  _D-7 Beautiful_ ,  _D-8 Romance_ ,  _D-8 Romance - Piano_ ,

Music From  _Kare Kano_  (1998):  _Yukino Miyazawa V (Nocturne)_ ,  _We Meet Only To Part_ ,  _Souichiro Arima II_ ,  _Coexistence And Co-Prosperity_ ,  _Yukino Miyazawa IV (Kanon)_ ,  _Treasure Every Meeting_ ,

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _F2 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_ ,

Music From  _Die Hard With A Vengeance_  (1995):  _Surfing The Aqueduct_ ,  _John And Zeus_ ,  _Papaya King_.

Music From  _Gamera: Guardian Of The Universe_  (1995):  _The Catastrophe On Himegami Island_ ,  _The Atoll At Night_ ,  _Terror Closes In_ ,  _Gyaos Flees_ ,  _The Ancient Civilization And Orihalcon_ ,  _Gyaos' Chromosomes_ ,  _Gyaos Flies To Tokyo_ ,  _Gamera And Asagi_ ,  _The Myth_  (Performed by Bakufu Slump).

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Treasure Every Meeting_  (Asuka and Toji),  **02**.  _Yukino Miyazawa IV (Kanon)_  (Shinji and Rei at home),  **03**.  _Misato_  (Sakura's mortifying surprise),  **04**.  _The Catastrophe On Himagami Island_  (Discovery in Mt. Asami),  **05**.  _The Atoll At Night_ (Mission Briefing),  **06**.  _Separation Anxiety_  (Operation Underway),  **07**.  _Harbinger Of Tragedy_  (Sandalphon Awakens),  **08**.  _Surfing In The Aqueduct_  (Perilous retreat),  **09**.  _Gamera vs. Gyaos_  (Sandalphon strikes back),  **10**.  _The Heady Feeling Of Freedom_  (After the battle).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**11**.  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 15: Trial By Fire**

* * *

**Gendo Ikari's Office, NERV HQ, Wednesday, July 29, 2043**

Sitting in front of Gendo Ikari's desk were Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, and Mana Kirishima. Mana had just been let go after a brief physical examination, while Shinji and Rei were now simply awaiting their fates. While Shinji's animosity towards his father meant that he didn't really care much for what the man had to say, the same could not be said for Rei. The blue-haired girl was absolutely terrified on the inside, for she had never deliberately disobeyed Gendo in such a blatant manner until now. She was actually sweating nervously as she tried to maintain a calm composure, but Gendo's standard glare and imposing silence were making that difficult.

Finally, Gendo spoke. "Corporal Shinji Ikari, due to your disregard for the chain of command and blatant insubordination, I am within my rights to have your status as an Evangelion pilot terminated on the spot," Gendo said to his son, his hands held briefly below his mouth. Shinji stared ahead at him without flinching, although a small frown did marr his face. "However, in light of the fact that your actions saved the life of a fellow pilot and an Eva which would have otherwise been lost, I am willing to consider  _temporarily suspending_  your status as a pilot, rather than terminating it outright," Gendo said calmly, letting everyone think that he was hiding his anger.

In truth, though, Gendo was actually quite happy with the outcome of his son's actions. Not only did Shinji manage to save Unit 04 from almost certain destruction, but he had done so in a way that allowed Gendo himself to keep his hands clean in front of SEELE and keep their favor a while longer. Granted, he still had to discipline his son in order to save face, but he was more than willing to pay that price.

_How ironic that the one time you do something to actually make me proud, Shinji, I must punish you for it. Yui would no doubt make a joke about it were she still here... in a corporeal form_ , Gendo thought to himself. "This suspension also applies to you as well, Corporal Ayanami. Both of you will still be required to take at least one harmonics test per month to ensure that you are capable of piloting in the event that all Evangelions are needed, but you will otherwise be prohibited from entering your Evas unless otherwise given permission until the suspension period has passed," Gendo said.  _Which will be however long or short I deem necessary to keep SEELE satisfied so that they don't do anything rash_ , Gendo thought to himself.

Rei felt her breath hitch as Gendo's words flowed into her ears. This was the first time since the age of ten that she had been punished in any form by the Commander. Rei slowly nodded her head in understanding.

"Just as well, Ayanami, certain privileges of yours will also be temporarily revoked, including access to Terminal Dogma and other high-clearance locations unelss otherwise stated by myself, Vice Commander Fuyutsuki, or Doctor Akagi. Is that clear?" Gendo asked her.

"Y-Yes," Rei replied with a gulp, looking Gendo in the eyes. Gendo adjusted his glasses to prevent anyone seeing how Rei's trembling form affected him, allowing the glare of the lights to reflect off of the glasses and make him look more imposing.

"C-Commander?" Rei asked him hesitantly.

"Yes?" Gendo asked her in response.

"Am I... g-going to b-be... replaced f-for this?" Rei asked, with both Mana and Shinji raising eyebrows in curiosity, until both of their eyes widened in suspicion of what Rei meant, as they were the only other pilots who knew of Rei's status as a clone.

Gendo remained impassive as he thought about Rei's question.

_She has informed me that Shinji is aware of her status as a clone, and replacing her would no doubt make him extremely suspicious. Just as well, I have no idea just how much Kirishima knows about Rei, since Rei told me only that she showed Kirishima Terminal Dogma the other month, but not the content of any discussions they had. If Kirishima knows... she may attempt something rash. Given what the girl has been through in the past month... I don't think I wish to find out so soon what that would be. Just as well, since Rei's actions DID actually help my own plans, she doesn't really deserve to be replaced by another clone. Especially not at this point. If she were replaced now, others would notice, since her behavior has changed so much since she started living with Major Katsuragi and my son. Replacing her would simply cause Shinji to inform Katsuragi of what he knows, and then I'd have to deal with HER, and... it's too much of a headache to think about,_ Gendo thought to himself.

"No. You will not be replaced... in any capacity," Gendo said, glancing briefly over at Shinji, who had a curious expression on his face.

Rei, for her part, felt relief and elation wash over her.  _I am... I am not going to... to be replaced. The Commander is not going to replace me. He's not going to replace me! I'm not going to die_ , Rei thought happily to herself. "Th-Thank you... Commander," Rei said quietly.

"Now, as for the absent Lieutenant Ibuki, whom none of you have asked about, because she was able to show me the simulations that the MAGI ran proving your plan to be viable and subsequently proving that she was not taking a drastic gamble with your life, I have only sentenced her to two weeks of unpaid suspension for her complicitness in your insubordination," Gendo said, surprising the three teenagers. They hadn't even thought about Maya or the consequences she could had endured for hr part in their plan, although Mana at least had the excuse of not knowing what was going on until Shinji had entered Leliel's Dirac Sea. Rei and Shinji, however, began to feel guilty for not remembering Maya's role in their defiance.

"Uh... hey, what about me? What happens to me?" Mana asked as she raised a hand.

Gendo looked at her curiously. "What do you mean? Corporal Kirishima, you have not done anything to break regulations. Why would you be reprimanded or punished?" Gendo asked her with genuine curiosity in his voice.

"Well... if it weren't for me, they wouldn't have felt the need to break the rules?" Mana suggested.

"Corporal Kirishima... while you are technically correct, your reasoning is still flawed. You were swallowed by the Angel because you followed the orders given to you by a superior officer. Anyway, I am recommending that your return to HQ tomorrow for a full medical examination, followed by a psychiatric evaluation by an on-base specialist," Gendo said. While Ritsuko could handle the medical examination, he would need another official to handle the psychiatric needs of the pilots. He would need someone who could keep their mouth shut, though. He would need... that therapist who he kept around mostly because of those mandates made by the Japanese Government.

_I'm pretty sure I haven't had him killed or removed from HQ since he began his employment here. Pretty sure. Besides, Fuyutsuki was the one who recommended him, and that was_ **after** _he'd learned about the truth regarding our mission_ , Gendo thought to himself.

"Wait a minute... are you saying there's been a therapist here this whole time?" Mana asked Gendo pointedly.

"Yes," Gendo replied simply.

Mana's eyes narrowed in anger and fury. "You mean there's been a therapist here this whole time... and you're only  _now_  letting me know about them? After I've spent the last two weeks suffering from depression and anxiety!?" Mana shrieked at Gendo. Gendo raised an eyebrow as he realized that Mana had not grown up in a country with a stigma against therapists.

_It would seem that I overlooked something of crucial importance_ , Gendo thought to himself as Mana stood up from her chair and placed both of her hands on his desk.

"You son of a bitch!" Mana roared at him angrily.

* * *

**Undisclosed Location, Undisclosed Time, Friday, July 31, 2043**

Sitting in a chair in the middle of a darkly-lit room, Major Misato Katsuragi watched as the UN Officials talked to each other and passed files around before they focused their attention on her. One of them, an older Japanese man, cleared his throat before beginning. "Major Katsuragi, how exactly did someone of your status find themselves locked in their own office at just the time when their presence was needed the most?" the man named Hiroshi Ikari, or Shinji's maternal grandfather, asked Misato coldly.

"Someone with access to the proper codes locked it from the outside. I have already questioned both Corporals Ayanami and Ikari on this matter, and both of them deny being responsible, despite accepting responsibility for everything else," Misato replied. Her only other guess was that one of the other pilots, Kaji, or perhaps even 1st Lieutenant Maya Ibuki had been responsible, except that Maya had been observed by other staff entering the bridge well before Misato's door had been locked.

"I see. Well then, on to the next question. Given the statements recorded from the pilot of Unit Four, do you believe that she was mentally contaminated by the Angel during her time in the... Dirac Sea?" Hiroshi Ikari asked her.

"I don't know. Corporal Kirishima said that she initially believed her encounters with the Angel to be bizarre hallucinations, but its final appearance convinced her of its true nature before she and Corporal Ikari escaped," Misato said.

"Yes. And, uh, it says here that, ' _the Angel claimed that they and their brethren were the rightful heirs to the Earth and then accused us of stealing the planet from them_ '," Hiroshi said as he read Mana's statement. "Do you believe Corporal Kirishima may be under the influence of something done to her by the Angel?" Hiroshi asked Misato.

"I don't know. Her behavior has changed to a degree, but nothing that I would consider worrisome or suspicious," Misato replied. "She underwent a full medical checkup on the day of her return and a yesterday as well, in addition to receiving a full psychiatric evaluation by a trained specialist yesterday," Misato added.

"She is receiving psychiatry from a specialist?" Hiroshi asked her. The scenario required that any pilots capable of stopping Third Impact be emotional wrecks to prevent them from realizing what was happening and intervening. This did not bode well for the scenario.

"We have her scheduled for a psychiatric evaluation and counseling session once every two weeks," Misato elaborated.

"I see," Hiroshi said, hiding his annoyance at the survival of Evangelion Unit 04-Beta, now renamed as just Unit 04, and its pilot. He and the other members of SEELE had hoped that the use of the N-2 mines to destroy the Angel would have also destroyed the Eva without giving their organization away. But with Commander Ikari's son rescuing the Eva through his insubordination... those plans had been tossed out the window.

The rest of the interrogation went smoothly for Misato, as she answered basic questions, before she was let go.

**Same Undisclosed Location, Later Time, Same Day...**

Sitting in a chair in the center of the room, Corporal Shinji Ikari looked at his grandfather with a nonplussed expression. He had seen his maternal grandfather on only a few occasions in the past, but those had always been under far more ideal circumstances. Now, the old man look about as unpleasant as Gendo, and the two men were related only by Gendo's marriage to Hiroshi's daughter.

"Corporal Shinji Ikari," Hiroshi began. Shinji nodded his head. "Would you please explain to us why you felt the need to commit insubordination?" Hiroshi asked his grandson with vieled anger.

"It was the right thing to do. After being denied the chance to commit my plan to action by Commander Ikari, Corporal Ayanami and I returned to one of the labs where Lieutenant Ibuki had the MAGI perform several simulations. They proved that my plan would work, but the Commander had made it clear that anything other than the plan approved by the Oversight Committee would be out of the question," Shinji explained.

"So you felt the need to disobey the orders of your direct superiors, while also involving a fellow pilot? I must say, this is very disappointing, especially considering the progress you've made as a pilot so far in your career," Hiroshi said, maintaining a somewhat neutral tone in his voice.

Shinji simply shrugged his shoulders in response. "If I hadn't gone through with it, then Corporal Kirishima would be dead, and Evangelion Unit Four would be lost to us," Shinji replied. "We can't afford to lose either of them. Kirishima-san is a great pilot, and Unit Four can last four and a half hours on the field without a power cable attached to it," Shinji added.

"Yes, it does seem that Evangelion Unit Four is a rather valuable piece of equipment," Hiroshi said, causing Shinji to frown slightly. "However, by jumping in after it, you put the world at risk of losing  _two_  Evangelions instead of only one, and that is quite a troubling scenario to think about," Hiroshi added calmly, hiding his disgust with Shinji's success.

"I did what I had to do, and if I were given another chance, I'd do it again in a heartbeat," Shinji said firmly. Hiroshi frowned in response.

"Well, since you have already received your punishment from Commander Ikari for your actions, I have nothing further to add. Just be warned, Corporal, that the success of your plan is the only reason you have not been fully removed from the Evangelion Pilot Corps," Hiroshi said sternly. Shinji nodded his head calmly.

**Same Undisclosed Location, Later Time, Same Day...**

Sitting on a chair in the center of the room was Mana Kirishima. Mana looked at the UN and JSSDF officials sitting behind the table across from her. "So, why am I here again? I thought you'd already received a full report on the incident?" Mana asked them.

Hiroshi Ikari cleared his throat and glared at Mana. "Corporal Kirishima, you noted during the report that you had made contact with what you believed to be the Angel. Would you care to explain this to us in greater detail?" Hiroshi asked her.

"It taunted me, asked me weird questions, and went on a rant about how it and the rest of ADAM's children were supposed to inherit the Earth instead of us. I'm not entirely sure, but I think it  _may_  have been slightly upset with us for some reason," Mana said snarkily.

"Corporal, is there anything that you may have neglected to mention in your report that you wish to tell us about now?" Hiroshi asked her.

"No. You have everything you need in the report. May I go now?" Mana responded tersely.

"Your report mentioned that the Angel would... take the forms of the deceased personnel of the NERV Second Branch, implying that it had somehow made physical contact with their remains. Is that accurate?" Hiroshi asked, trying to get under Mana's skin.

"That is accurate," Mana replied neutrally.  _So, you're one of the assholes who wanted to blow me to kingdom come, right? Well, fuck you asshole. If you wanna play dirty, I'm willing to fight back_ , Mana thought to herself.

"How many members of the Second Branch staff did it impersonate during its attempts to communicate with you?" Hiroshi asked her.

"At least three, counting myself, the late Lieutenant Colonel Barnes, and the late Aoi Kirishima, my mother. For some reason, it didn't impersonate Harold Wagner, although it's possible that there... may not have been any remains for it to make contact with, given that he was in the entry plug at the time of the Angel's birth, and the entry plug was located... well, in close proximity with the S-Two Engine when it... went wrong," Mana elaborated.

"Hm. I see," Hiroshi said. "You said that you were able to see what was happening at the time of the incident via video conference on a specialized laptop. Did you notice anything unusual occurring during the time leading up to the accident?" Hiroshi asked her.

Mana frowned. "That has nothing to do with the incident we are discussing. Please, stay on topic," Mana replied firmly. This time, Hiroshi frowned in response.

"Watch your tongue, Corporal," Hiroshi said sternly.

"Look, is there a point to any of this?" Mana asked as she looked at the others. "I got trapped in the Angel, saw the remains of everyone I ever cared about glued together like some kind of alien arts and crafts project, talked to the Angel, and then got rescued because Corporal Ikari had the  _balls_  to go against your authority and prove that you were  _wrong_  about something. So, I'd like to leave now," Mana said with a glare.

"Not yet. Would you agree that Corporal Ikari's actions were reckless?" Hiroshi asked her.

"Yes. And I would have done the same thing if it were him or someone else trapped in the Angel instead of me," Man replied. "I would have done the  _exact same thing_ ," she reiterated with a grin.

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Saturday, August 08, 2043**

Standing behind a rail on a lookout pier that provided a grand view of Lake Ashino, Asuka sighed in frustration. She glanced over at Toji as he looked through the binoculars. "Hey, see some fishing boats out on the lake," Toji said as he looked around. "Aaaaand... there's a couple doin' each other in the woods near the shore," he said. "They have no idea anyone can see them," he added with a snicker.

Of course, Toji's comment caused Asuka to think about something that had been bugging her over the past few weeks: her developing relationship with Toji Suzuhara. Her feelings for the boy ran much deeper than what she'd felt for her other boyfriends back in Germany, and the kissing sessions were much more passionate, but lately Asuka had begun to feel a desire for something much more intimate and physical, and that scared her. While there were no rules against fraternization in the Eva Pilot Corps, which she did find rather strange, it still seemed taboo for her to think about going to the next phase with her... subordinate.

They'd both managed to keep their relationship low key, especially when they were at NERV HQ, but Asuka was starting to wonder how long that restraint would last. And when it finally broke, how would it affect their status and ability to pilot their Evas? How would their relationship affect each other on the battlefield when fighting an Angel?

_I have to talk to him about this. It's now or never. We need to set up more ground rules before we progress any further_ , Asuka thought to herself as she looked over at Toji. She cleared her throat to get the boy's attention. Toji looked at her in response.

"Toji... I-we... there's something we should talk about," Asuka said as she strode up to him.

"Uh... yeah?" Toji asked her nervously.  _Is she... dumping me? What did I do wrong?_

"Look... I think we need to set up a few more ground rules for our relationship," Asuka said.

Toji sighed in relief. "Oh. Um, sure. What did you have in mind?" Toji asked her.

"Well... the incident with the previous Angel got me thinking about some things. For instance, if I were ever in that situation... I need to know that you won't do anything reckless for my sake," Asuka said as she looked him in the eyes. "I... I'm afraid that if one of us were in Mana's situation... we might do what Shinji did, and... while he was right about his plan working, there's no guarantee that the next Angel might have the same weaknesses or that there may even  _be_  a chance for survival," Asuka said solemnly.

"If something happens to me... I need to know that you won't get yourself killed while doing something reckless or irresponsible. The only reason Shinji isn't dead is because he happened to be right about how the Angel worked. He got lucky. But the next Angel that swallows someone up or traps an Eva may not have a weakness that can be exploited like that. If I get trapped or even devoured by an Angel... promise me that you won't do anything stupid," Asuka pleaded.

"Red, I-" "Promise me!" Asuka insisted as she grabbed Toji by his track suit.

"Okay! Okay, I promise that I won't do anything stupid! I'll follow my orders," Toji said, looking Asuka straight in the eyes. Asuka nodded her head in approval, before leaning forward and resting her head against Toji's chest.

"Good. Now... there's something else I want to talk to you about," Asuka said as she pulled away and looked at Toji.

"Yeah?" Toji asked her. Asuka glanced around the area to see if anyone was nearby before returning her attention to Toji.

"Toji... I was thinking... would you like us to get a bit more...  _physical?_ " Asuka asked him with a gleam in her eyes. Toji raised an eyebrow in response.

"Physical? You mean, like, goin' for walks and exercisin' together?" he asked her, just to be safe. He knew that women accused men of only wanting one thing in a relationship, and he'd hate to give Asuka that impression if he could avoid it.

"Well, it depends on your definition of the word 'exercise', because I  _am_  thinking of something that'll make us sweat a lot," Asuka said with a grin. Toji's eyes widened at the realization of what Asuka was referring to.

"Y-You wanna... for real?" Toji asked her, his eyes alight in anticipation. Asuka nodded her head. "So... like, starting today?" he asked her eagerly. Asuka nodded her head in response, smiling at him coyly. "Uh... where at, though?" Toji asked her. There was no way Asuka would want to do it right there on the pier... unless she was secretly an exhibitionist.

"Well... Mari is hanging out with Mana and Kensuke today at the apartment. They're having some kind of movie marathon. What about your place?" Asuka asked him.

"Hm... I think Sakura is spendin' the afternoon at a friend's house. She won't be back home until near dark, and my dad won't get home from NERV HQ until... probably after dark. We've got a few hours to... well, have some fun," Toji said with a grin.

"So... should we get Section Two to give us a lift?" Asuka asked Toji.

"Nah. I say we race each other there. First one to the house gets to... be on top," Toji said with a grin.

"You're on," Asuka said as she quickly darted away, forcing Toji to start jogging behind her.

* * *

**The Pilots Apartment Complex, The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment, Tokyo-3...**

"Okay," Shinji said to himself as he set up his cello out on the veranda. "Let's see if I can avoid messing up the third line down," he said to himself as he prepared to play. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Rei was preparing some vegetable kebabs in accordance to a vegetarian recipe book that Shinji had bought for her so that she could learn how to make her own meals.

Rei scanned the cut up vegetable pieces on the cutting board, before glancing over at the recipe book again. She then picked up the skewers one at a time and carefully began impaling them through several pieces of onions, sweet peppers, and tofu in the order suggested by the recipe book. Shinji had recommended the tofu as something she could add to make it like a meat dish without actually adding any meat, as Rei had become a bit more curious about certain meat dishes, despite knowing that her stomach could not handle it.

After making sure that all four kebabs were ready, Rei set them on a small baking sheet and placed them in Misato's oven. The fact that Misato even had an oven was something that Shinji and Rei had only recently discovered in the past month, as the oven door had somehow been painted over to look like a cabinet at some point, since Misato had used the oven as a storage space for her instant foods and various snacks. After making sure that the paint had been removed, Shinji had cleaned the inside of the oven from top to bottom so that it could be used for its intended purpose in the future.

Rei set the timer for the designated time and then made her way out to the living room, where she listened to Shinji playing his cello while Pen-Pen sat on the couch, reading a magazine. Sitting down next to the penguin, Rei began gently running her hand up and down the back of Pen-Pen's head. Pen-Pen let out a birdish trill of contentment in response, causing Rei to smile.

**Meanwhile, In Mana's Apartment...**

Sitting back on the couch, Mana Kirishima and Kensuke Aida watched their movie quietly, with Kensuke occasionally glancing around to see where Mari had wandered off to. "Hey, Kirishima-chan?" Kensuke asked.

" _Well, we outran it yesterday._ "

"You can call me Mana," Mana said to Kensuke. Kensuke blushed slightly in return.

" _Running's not a plan; running's what you do when a plan fails! Dammit, Valentine, you're not even trying to think of a plan!_ "

"Right. Um, Mana-chan? Have you seen Mari anywhere?" Kensuke asked, prompting Mana to turn her head from the TV and look around.

" _Well, who died and made you Einstein!?_ "

"Huh. Where'd she go?" Mana asked, having not even noticed when Mari had disappeared. "I hope she isn't breaking anything," Mana muttered.

" _Hey! You guys know how to pole vault!? We just stay where it can't get us._ "

Soon, the sound of rushing water from the bathroom followed by the sound of feet on the floor drew the attention of Mana and Kensuke as Mari exited the bathroom. "Sorry about that. I had a bit more to eat than usual today. But... I figure I'll need the energy," Mari said with a grin.

Mana and Kensuke both raised eyebrows at Mari, until she fished over a dozen small squares out of her pants pockets. Mana and Ken's eyes widened as they realized what Mari was holding. "Are... are those-" " _Yup!_ " Mari interrupted Mana with a grin.

"I brought enough to last most of the night, since Kaji doesn't come home until late anyway, and Asuka's out on a date with Toji. Besides, you're the only one who lives in this apartment, Mana. I figure... we should all have enough privacy for a while tonight," Mari continued.

Mana paused the movie before glancing between Mari and Kensuke. "Ken... did you know about this?" Mana asked the bespectacled boy suspiciously.

"N-No! I swear I had no idea! I thought we were gonna be watching movies all night!" Kensuke replied earnestly. Mana then looked back over at Mari questioningly.

"You've been planning this for a while, haven't you?" Mana asked the girl. Mari simply rolled her eyes in response.

"Look... I think this would do you some good. Besides, don't tell me you haven't ever fantasized about something like this. So, what do you say, huh?" Mari asked Mana. Mana glanced away from Mari before looking at Kensuke.

"Hm... well... I guess, but only after this movie is over," Mana said.

"Fair enough," Mari said in agreement. She then looked over at Kensuke with a lascivious grin. "I hope you're ready, Kensuke. We're gonna run you  _ragged_ ," Mari said, causing the military otaku to gulp as multiple emotions flowed through him.

* * *

**The Suzuhara Household, A Short Time Later...**

Walking home, Sakura Suzuhara pulled out her house key and unlocked the door. She glanced back over her shoulder to see a nondescript van parked along the sidewalk not too far away, remembering that Section 2 had been assigned to watch her and her brother now that he was an Eva pilot. Opening the door, Sakura stepped inside the house and quietly closed it.

She only needed to grab a few things for her sleepover at Michiru Katagiri's house, having forgotten to grab them earlier in the morning before the mandatory half-day of school.  _Man, why couldn't school start a week later!? I wish we still had another week off_ , Sakura thought to herself in disappointment as she walked up the stairs and turned into the hallway, where she noticed her brother's bedroom door opened slightly with light coming out.

_That's weird. I thought Toji would be out all day with Sohryu-san_ , Sakura thought to herself, before she heard something strange coming from the room.  _What was that? Wait... what if Toji left his window open, and someone snuck into the house!? I'd better check to see if someone's in there_ , Sakura thought to herself, forgetting the fact that Section 2 would have intervened if that were the case.

Carefully tip-toeing over to the door, Sakura gently slid it open, and peeked inside, only for some white fabric to fly into her face. Stepping back from the door, Sakura reached up and pulled the fabric off, only to realize that she was holding a pair of damp white panties in her hands. Sakura's eyes widened.

_T-Toji wears girls' under-wait a minute... Toji is dating Sohryu-san... holy crap!_  Sakura carefully tip-toed over to the doorway to place the panties on the floor inside the room, keeping her eyes glued to the ground.  _Don't look up. Don't look up. Don't look up_ , Sakura told herself as she quietly placed the discarded panties on the floor, ignoring the moans and gasps coming from the bed nearby.

"Y-Yes! Like that! Right there!" a female voice gasped out in ecstasy, prompting Sakura to briefly glance up against her better judgement. Her face went beet red as she saw Asuka lying on Toji's bed almost naked, with Toji's head pressed between her thighs, while her mouth was open in a face of pure bliss as her eyes were screwed shut. Sakura stood motionless, until Asuka took off her bra and threw it in Sakura's direction as well, the fabric hitting the younger girl in the face. Sakura blinked in surprise as the bra fell from her face and landed on the floor.

Sakura quickly forced herself to back out of the room and carefully slid the door closed before making her way over to her own bedroom, her eyes widened in mortification at the sight of her brother... giving head to Asuka.  _I... things will be very awkward between me and them if they ever find out that I saw them_ , Sakura thought to herself, still mortified by what she had witnessed.

The 13-year old girl quickly grabbed her things and quietly made her way back through the hallway, flinching when she heard a muffled moan of pleasure from her brother's room.  _Must leave now! Must leave now! Must leave now_ , Sakura thought to herself as she quickly sped down the stairs and opened the door, carefully locking it after quietly closing it. She then proceeded to jog down the street in the direction of where her friend Michiru lived.

* * *

**The Pilots Apartment Complex, Mana's Apartment, Hours Later...**

Staring up at the ceiling as he regained his senses while naked, covered in sweat, completely spent, and out of breath, Kensuke smiled as he glanced over at the sleeping form of an equally naked Mana on the futon next to him, surrounded by used condoms, while a naked Mari, covered in sweat and other stains as the last few shuddering vestiges of her orgasm left her, soon fell forward on top of him, her breasts pressing against his chest. "I told you... I'd help you get over your... 'minute-man' problem," Mari said with a yawn and a grin, before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Kensuke smiled and nodded his head before he drifted off to sleep as well.

Eventually, the trio were roused from their sleep by a shocked gasp and scream of, " _ **WHAT THE HELL!?**_ " from a bewildered Misato, who had been asked by Kaji to check up on Mana and the other girls since he would be staying at NERV HQ later than her that night. Rising from her futon, Mana rubbed her eyes before looking around the room. Mana blinked at Misato as she finally gained her senses back, while Kensuke had the biggest blush as he stared wide-eyed at Misato from underneath Mari's body.

"Okay, calm down Katsuragi-san. I... I can explain everything," Mana said to Misato.

"Oh, you can?" Misato asked her indignantly. Mana nodded her head in response. "Well then,  _please do!_ " Misato snapped.

"Okay. This... is  _exactly_  what it looks like," Mana said in a matter-of-fact manner, causing Misato's jaw to drop. Mana then picked up a used condom from the floor. "Don't worry, though! We used protection!" she added proudly.

"B-But... you're only seventeen... or sixteen in your case, Mana!" Misato shot back.

"Actually, I turned seventeen in July. Besides, we're forced to pilot giant cyborgs in a war to save humanity from extinction! I'd say we have a right to make ourselves feel good! You've no right to tell us that we shouldn't be doing this if you're gonna force us to perform adult duties such as  _risking our lives_  on the battlefield," Mana added, staring Misato in the eyes.

Misato rolled her eyes and groaned in response. Though she didn't want to admit it, the girl had a point.

"Hey, Mana," Mari started as she slid off of Kensuke and stretched her legs. "Tell Misato how many times we-" "I don't wanna hear it!" Misato snapped, interrupted Mari.

"You guys just... get cleaned up. Aida-san, I'll drive you home," Misato said as she turned around and left Mana's bedroom. Misato sighed in frustration as she leaned back against the wall.

"I need a drink."

* * *

**Mount Asama Research Station, Thursday, October 15, 2043**

Leaning back in his chair, geologist Shigeru Matsushima noticed something strange on one of the monitors. Leaning forward, he squinted his eyes as he took a closer look at the imagery being sent back from one of the probes inside the volcano's crater. "What is that?" he asked rhetorically.

Walking up behind Matsushima, fellow geologist Hideo Takagi leaned over his shoulder to look at the screen. "Hey, Mats-san? What is that thing?" Takagi asked his comrade. Matsushima shook his head in confusion.

"I don't know. I'm sending instructions to the probe to switch over to different scanning settings. Maybe we can get a better idea with a different setting," Matsushima replied.

After switching over to a different scan setting, the two scientists waited for new results to come back. When the results finally showed up on a monitor screen, they both blinked in confusion, before startling realization set in. "Th-That's... w-we need to call NERV!" Matsushima stammered as he looked at the image of the hibernating Angel on the screen. It may have looked like a developing human embryo, but the size of the thing made it clear that it wasn't Human. It was an Angel, and it was currently hibernating deep inside Mount Asama.

* * *

**Eva Pilot Corps "Briefing Room", Deep Inside NERV HQ, Later That Evening...**

"Is that... an Angel?" Toji asked as he looked at the image plastered on the screen in front of him and the other pilots. Ritsuko Akagi nodded her head in confirmation of everyone's question. "Why does it look like a human baby?" Toji asked.

"It's still developing," Ritsuko explained. "Currently, it's in an embryonic state inside what we hypothesize to be either an egg or a chrysalis, similar to what moth and butterfly larva enter as they go through their metamorphosis," Ritsuko elaborated.

"Yeah, but I bet that whatever comes out ain't no sweet little butterfly," Mana quipped, paraphrasing a quote from an American horror movie she'd brought with her to Japan.

"No, probably not," Ritsuko said in agreement. "However, we do have the benefit of time, as the Angel is, according to the data provided by the scans and probes, still developing," she added. "We can have the proper equipment set up and in place around Mount Asama by Saturday morning," she added.

"Equipment? Do you mean guns and rockets to hit it while it's still vulnerable?" Shinji asked her, raising a hand.

"No. I mean equipment to lower an Eva into the volcano and retrieve the dormant Angel so that we can bring it back and study it. The Angel is currently situated at a depth of one thousand, seven-hundred and eighty meters into the volcano. Special D-Type equipment will be used for the operation to capture it," Ritsuko replied. Everyone blinked at her with wide eyes and stunned expressions.

"Um, excuse me, Doctor Akagi?" Asuka asked as she raised her hand.

"Yes, Warrant Officer Sohryu?" Ritsuko asked in response.

"Did you say that you want to...  _bring_  the Angel  _here?_  Um... have you forgotten what happened the last time there was an Angel inside NERV HQ?" Asuka asked her incredulously. "I mean, isn't it our job to  _prevent_  that sort of thing?" she added.

"Warrant Officer Sohryu is correct, Doctor," Rei said in agreement. "Bringing a live Angel, especially one of that size, into NERV facilities would present a great risk," Rei added. "If it were to awaken and escape its confines, it could potentially enter Terminal Dogma and trigger Third Impact," Rei concluded.

"We wouldn't be bringing it  _here_ ," Ritsuko said. "We'd be taking it to another facility," she explained.

"Would this facility be inside the Geofront?" Rei asked her.

"Yes," Ritsuko replied bluntly.

Rei eyed Ritsuko with an expression of disapproval on her face. "The risk is far too great, Doctor. It may be in our best interest to terminate the Angel while it is still within the Volcano instead," Rei concluded.

"Well, it's a good thing you won't be going to Mount Asama, isn't it?" Ritsuko replied. "You and Corporal Ikari are still under suspension," she added. Shinji and Rei both looked at her curiously.

"If we're still suspended, why were we called here to this meeting?" Shinji asked, confused.

"This operation involves an Angel. Therefore, it is vital that all pilots be in attendance to receive this information," Misato explained. "Just as well, since you'll both still be in Tokyo Three, your status could change at any time if another Angel were to appear and attack the city directly," Misato finished. Rei and Shinji both slowly nodded their heads as they processed this information.

"So... if those two aren't going, I guess it's just three of us, then?" Asuka asked.

"Actually, four of you," Misato said. Asuka blinked in confusion.

"Four? But... what a minute, you can't mean Suzuhara's coming along, can you?" Asuka asked Misato, slightly aghast. She'd known that Toji would have to be called to battlefield eventually; she'd just hoped that it wouldn't be so soon.

"Well, he needs field experience, and this... is probably the safest type he can get," Misato said before she turned to look at Toji. "Suzuhara-san, which Eva would you feel the most comfortable piloting?" Misato asked him.

Toji looked around the room at the other pilots before looking back at Misato. "Well... I wouldn't wanna force anybody out of their own Eva, ya know?" Toji replied nervously.

"I understand your concern for your fellow pilots' feelings, but this is something that I think you should do for more experience," Misato said in response. "Toji... we won't be sending you into the volcano, if you're afraid of that," Misato added in a reassuring tone.

"Oh? So... who  _is_  going into the volcano then?" Toji asked her. Mari immediately shot up from her seat with a wide-eyed grin plastered on her face and a hand in the air.

"Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me! Please! Please, pick me!" Mari begged in a manner not too dissimilar to a small child begging for candy. Shinji rolled his eyes at Mari's actions, while Asuka merely sighed in dismay at her sister-in-arms behavior.

"It won't be you, Toji. However, it's still important that you make a choice regarding the Eva that you'll be using for the mission. Which Eva do you feel the most comfortable piloting?" Misato asked him. Toji looked over at Shinji briefly.

"Well... Unit One seems to work pretty well with me, but... honestly? I like havin' a seatbelt," Toji said as he glanced over at Mana. Mana widened her eyes in response. "I... hope it's okay," Toji said.

"Pick me! Pick me!" Mari continued in the background. Misato and Toji ignored her.

"Yeah. I don't mind," Mana said in response. "Major, if Toji wants to use Unit Four-Be-I mean, Unit Four, then let him. I can stay on the ground with you and the others while the operation is commencing," Mana said.

Misato nodded her head in appreciation of Mana's offer. "Okay then. It's decided. Toji, you'll be piloting Unit Four while Mari and Asuka pilot their Evas," Misato said, before she finally turned to look at Mari.

"Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!" Mari begged. Misato sighed in response before turning to look at Asuka. "Please! Please! I wanna do it!" Mari begged.

"Just... make her shut up already," Asuka said.

"Okay. Mari, you'll be our magma diver," Misato said reluctantly.

"YEEEEEESSSS!" Mari hissed victoriously. "I'm gonna dive in the magma!" she hooted before standing up and performing a victory dance. "Oh yeah! Oh yeah!" Mari sang to herself.

"Mari,  _sit down!_ " Asuka barked at her. Mari gingerly stepped back over to her chair and sat down while still humming her victory tune. Asuka sighed and shook her head in dismay.

**Meanwhile, In Gendo Ikari's Office...**

"Ikari, are you sure this is a good idea?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo as he read Ritsuko's hastily drafted plan for capturing the Angel.

"Professor, we rarely get an opportunity to strike first against the Angels," Gendo replied.

"Yes, but the Committee may deem this alarming. You realize that we could cause Third Impact if we aren't careful," Fuyutsuki warned. Gendo simply smirked.

"We won't. Even though I've given the go ahead for the Angel to be captured intact, I know that it won't be brought back here alive," Gendo said confidently. Fuyutsuki raised an eyebrow at his former student. "Major Katsuragi will see to that," he added knowingly.

* * *

**Deep Inside NERV HQ, Friday Afternoon, October 16, 2043**

Standing on a catwalk in the Eva holding cages, Mari watched as the shoulder pylons of her olive green Eva were removed and set aside by a work crew. Looking beyond the Eva, Mari saw the large white diving suit constructed for the beast. It was the D-Type equipment, and it looked so... round.

It basically was an up-scaled diving suit filled with coolant tubes.

Mari then heard footsteps and turned to see Misato walking up next to her. "Mari, have you tried out your new pressurized plug suit yet?" Misato asked her as she held a folder full of files in her hands.

"Not yet. I didn't know I was getting one," Mari replied, causing Misato to frown.

"You should have been informed yesterday," Misato said. "Anyway, the new plug suit is waiting for you in the locker room. Follow me and we'll see how it fits on you," Misato said, gesturing for the brunette girl to follow her.

When they arrived in the locker room, Asuka was already waiting, while Mana was just entering the room. "Mana, why are you here? Shouldn't you be with helping Toji with Unit Four?" Misato asked her.

"I just finished my therapy session. I was on my way to the lab to help Doctor Akagi with Suzuhara-san, but I figured I'd stop by and see how Makinami-san's coming along," Mana replied. "Where are Ikari-kun and Ayanami-kun?" Mana asked her.

"They're not going on the mission, remember? So they aren't required to be here," Misato replied as Mari started stripping before opening up the bag holding her new plug suit. This was twice now that Misato had seen Mari naked in front of her, although at least she wasn't covered in sweat and other bodily fluids this time.

"So... if an Angel attacks while we're gone, how quickly will the Commander reinstate Ayanami and Ikari-kun's status as pilots?" Mana asked Misato.

"As soon as he gives the word, they're back on duty," Misato replied. Mana nodded her head in response.

"Okay! Now let's see what makes this thing so special," Mari said as she walked around in the bright neon green plug suit. "I kinda wish they'd gone with a different color scheme, though," she said with a frown. She then pressed a new button on her wrist cuff, and the suit began to expand.

"Whoa!" Mari exclaimed as she began swelling up like a balloon. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise at the sight. "I'm  _huge!_ " Mari cried out in shock.

"Mari, spit out the ever-lasting gobstopper!" Mana joked. Misato glanced at Mana and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You know? It's from... from Willy Wonka," Mana explained. Misato continued staring at her in confusion. "It's from... you... you've never... seen... you've never... oh, now that's just  _sad_ ," Mana said in lament, shaking her head.

"My mom and I would watch that movie together all the time on Fridays after school when I was younger. I hope I remembered to bring that one with me, 'cause we're gonna need to have a movie night together at some point. You need to get  _educated_ ," Mana said to Misato with a serious expression on her face. Misato slowly nodded her head in understanding, humoring the girl, before she returned her focus to Mari, who was now rolling around the locker room like a giant ball.

"Wheeeeee!" Mari cried out jovially as she rolled herself around a bench. "Look at me! I'm a giant beach ball! No! No! I'm a giant goofball! Literally!" Mari joked as she rolled herself past Misato and Mana.

Asuka just shook her head silently in disappointment at Mari's actions. "You take too much enjoyment in this job," Asuka muttered to herself. Mari then crashed into a locker before letting out a laugh. " _Far_  too much enjoyment," Asuka reiterated.

"All will bow down to Queen Rolly Polley!" Mari laughed as she continued rolling around the locker room.

* * *

**Mount Asama, Saturday, October 17, 2043**

Having arrived at the base of the volcano early in the morning, NERV had already begun setting up the necessary equipment to begin the operation. A large crane had been put together near the edge of the volcano to lower Unit 05 down into the crater, while Unit 04 and Unit 02 stood by with umbilical cables attached to a power station located nearby, both Evas holding pallet rifles in their hands in the event of an emergency. Three external battery packs had been brought along as well, although only Unit 02 and Unit 05 would probably need them.

A mobile observation post had been set up as well, with multiple NERV personnel inside, while the nearby geological research facility had been commandeered by NERV, much to the chagrin of the scientists who worked there. As Unit 05 was being prepared for the operation, Toji and Asuka were both sitting inside Unit 04 and Unit 02, respectively. Looking at the main screen surrounding the entry plug, Toji let out a sigh.

A small window showed up on the screen, with the words PRIVATE displayed over the window. He accepted the call and saw Asuka looking back at him from inside her entry plug, wearing her red plug suit. " _So, you hanging in there okay?_ " Asuka asked him over the com.

"Yeah. I like havin' a seat belt... or safety harness. Whatever dis thing is called," Toji replied as he gripped the safety harness to enforce his point. The pilot seat also had a retractable head-rest, which none of the other remaining Evangelions had in their entry plugs. " _It's a safety harness_ ," Asuka clarified.

Toji nodded his head in response. "So... I guess they'll be ready soon? I mean... dis is kind of boring," Toji said.

" _Soon, Toji. Soon. Just keep an eye out for anything strange and we'll hopefully get through this without any complications_ ," Asuka said firmly.

"Right. Anything  _strange_ , huh? Does dat include the giant cyborgs we're piloting?" Toji asked with a chuckle. Asuka rolled her eyes at him in response. " _Just listen through the coms and maintain contact with Mari. If she needs help, I'll go first. You're still a rookie, so you'll be the backup for me if I need you_ ," Asuka said.

Despite having upgraded their personal relationship to a physical level, both pilots were able to maintain a professional attitude while in the Evas, for which Misato was glad, especially after she had found out from Kaji about the two pilots' relationship. Kaji had discovered the relationship a few weeks earlier, when he had stumbled upon a naked Toji and Asuka sleeping in the same bed, along with a handful of used condoms in a nearby trash can.

The two pilots had received a rather stern lecture about responsibility from Kaji, although Kaji wasn't nearly as taken back as Misato had been when she'd found Mari and Mana with Kensuke. When Asuka ended up hearing from Mari about the incident, her eyes had almost popped out of their sockets. She just could not accept the idea of Kensuke Aida managing to bed two girls at once. The very concept was unthinkable to her.

"Right. So, just remember my training and I should come out okay?" Toji asked Asuka over the com. " _Well, for the most part. Just be prepared for the unexpected to occur_ ," Asuka replied over the com.

"Right. About that, what's with all of those planes flying around us?" Toji asked noticing the airplanes that had been circling overhead for some time. " _That's... the contingency plan. If we fail and the Angel wakes up, the U.N. is going to... drop a dozen N-Two mines onto this place to kill the Angel and cover things up_ ," Asuka said.

"What is it with those guys and their N-Two mines? That's, like, their solution to  _everything_. Didn't they have a big robot a few months back?" Toji asked in response.

" _Jet Alone stays in Tokyo Three. With three of us out here, Shinji and Rei will need the support in the event of an emergency_ ," Asuka explained. Toji nodded his head in understanding. "Right," he muttered.

**Thirty Minutes Later...**

Inside Unit 05, Mari hummed happily to herself as the large crane with coolant tubes and a power cable attached began lowering Unit 05 into the crater of the volcano. "Finally!" Mari let out as she saw her depth meter appear on the upper right hand corner of her main screen. A SOUND ONLY com window soon appeared in the lower left-hand corner of her screen. " _Okay, Mari, we're beginning your descent into Mount Aasam now. Just remember to get the Angel into the container and we'll be bringing you back up_ ," Misato said over the com.

Unit 05 currently held a large box with a lid in its arms. It was an electromagnetic cage, designed to withstand the pressure and heat of the magma. The D-Type Equipment was bulky, but still maneuverable to a degree, and Mari was able to move her limbs with basic, albeit limited, rotation. "So, how far down is the Angel again?" Mari asked over the com.

" _If you'd been paying attention during the briefing, you'd remember that the depth is at one thousand, seven-hundred and eighty meters_ ," the voice of Ritsuko said over the com. "Whoa," Mari replied. "All right! Let's go diving!" Mari exclaimed jubilantly.

**Inside The Mobile Command Center...**

Ritsuko looked at Misato questioningly. "Are you sure it was a good idea to choose  _her_ , out of all the pilots?" Ritsuko asked Misato. Misato sighed in response.

"Honestly, I'd rather not send any of them, but this is the only option for getting to the Angel while it's vulnerable. Besides, she's the only one who  _willingly_  volunteered for it," Misato said as she crossed her arms. Ritsuko shook her head at Misato.

Sitting in a chair nearby, Mana listened to Ritsuko and Misato converse. "Hey, she's crazy enough to do it, so why not let her?" Mana said, adding her two cents. Ritsuko and Misato both glanced over in Mana's direction.

"Major, Unit Five is just above the magma now," 2nd Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga called out from his console. Misato walked over to Hyuga and looked over his shoulder at the monitors displaying Mari's vital signs along with various readings from Unit 05 and the D-Type equipment, checking the stability levels of the coolant and the other equipment attached to the diving gear. "The D-Type equipment is now entering the magma," Hyuga said as the temperature readings shifted slightly on the one of the monitors.

"The D-Type equipment's integrity is holding steady," Hyuga said. Misato nodded her head as she kept her eyes on the monitor.

"Hold it for a minute, then resume lowering the Eva," Misato ordered. Hyuga nodded his head before pausing the descent.

" _Hey! Why did I stop?_ " Mari asked over the com. Mana grabbed a headset and plugged it into the com station. "We're checking to make sure the D-Type equipment holds up. Just give us a minute," Mana replied over the com.

" _Oh. Okay_ ," Mari replied.

Misato studied the readings on the monitors carefully. "Okay. Resume lowering the Eva," Misato said. Hyuga nodded his head and reactivated the crane. Unit 05 showed consistent internal temperature levels on the monitors, and Mari's vital signs remained steady.

**Back In The Volcano...**

Evangelion Unit 05 continued its journey into the magma, the D-Type equipment keeping the hot liquid rock at bay. For several minutes, the white bulbous shape of the up-scaled diving suit maintained a steady pace as it pressed deeper and deeper into the Earth. Inside the confines of Unit 05's entry plug, Mari hummed to herself as she watched the depth meter on her screen grow higher and higher.

"Journey into the center of the Earth," Mari said to herself as she looked around at the inner walls of the volcano, noticing the orange and red filter of the magma. "Hey, how much further do I have to go?" Mari asked as her Eva went deeper and deeper into the volcano. The readings on her depth meter were steadily going up.

" _Not too much deeper, Mari-san. You're almost there,_ " Misato said over the com. Mari nodded her head before she heard a strange sound from outside. One of the lights on the outside of the suit had busted. "Um, I just lost a light," Mari said over the com, before a second one was crushed by the pressure of the magma at her current depth.

"Make that two!" Mari reported. While she wasn't scared, she did feel slightly uneasy about her curent situation. Even though she presented a front of being confident and in control, Mari had no illusions about what could happen to her if anything went wrong with the D-Type equipment.

" _The main suit's integrity is still holding up. Mari, do you want to keep going or pull out?_ " Misato asked her.

Mari bit her lip as she thought about Misato's question.  _Well... I haven't really lost anything critical yet, and the D-Type can still go further than this. I'm not in any real danger just yet_ , Mari thought to herself.

"I'll keep going," Mari replied into the com.

" _Mari, don't push yourself if you don't have to_ ," Asuka's voice came in over the com as a small window showed up in the corner of the screen, showing Asuka's face inside Unit 02's entry plug.

"I appreciate the concern, Asuka, but I'm not pulling out yet. Nothing serious has happened, and my coolant levels are still good. Misato! Keep pushing me down," Mari called out over the com.

" _If you're sure_ ," Misato replied over the com.

"I am. Let's keep going. Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Mari said with a grin. On the com window, Asuka frowned at Mari worriedly before shaking her head. " _Just take it easy Mari. don't get careless down there_ ," Asuka said.

"You worry too much," Mari replied dismissively with a wave. Asuka let out a sigh in response.

The Evangelion continued its journey into the depths of the volcano, several minutes passing with nary a sound other than Mari's continued humming. At least, until something else cracked under the pressure. "What was that?" Mari asked in concern.

" _Mari, the external pressure on the diving gear is building up. You just lost a hand-hold on the exterior_ ," Ritsuko said over the com, a slight undercurrent of worry present in her voice. Mari closed her eyes and inhaled.

"Is it a critic piece of equipment?" Mari asked into the com system.

" _Negative, but it will make it more difficult for another Eva to pull you out without something to grab onto_ ," Ritsuko replied.

"Then I can keep going," Mari said.  _Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Nothing ventured, nothing gained_ , she kept repeating to herself.

Mari then looked at the depth meter on her screen.

**DEPTH AT 1760.00 METERS**.

"Just twenty more to go," Mari muttered as she continued diving.

There was a loud groan as a coolant pipe began to burst outside. "Shit!" Mari swore as she saw a warning show up on her screen. She still had enough coolant left to reach the Angel and retrieve it at her current pace, according to the levels shown on her screen and the fact that there were still two more coolant tubes attached to the Eva's diving gear.

" _Mari, you're losing coolant!_ " Misato exclaimed over the com.

"It's fine. I can make it," Mari retorted firmly.  _Nothing ventured, nothing gained_.

" _It's too risky. We're gonna pull you up and let the Defense Force take over_ ," Misato said over the com.

"No! I can do this! Please, trust me on this! I have enough coolant left that I can reach the target and retrieve it!" Mari shouted over the com.

" _Are you SURE?_ " Misato asked her over the com.

"Yes! Yes, I'm  _sure!_ " Mari snapped in response. "I can do this! Alright!? I can make it to the Angel and bring it back to the surface!" she snapped.

" _Mari, watch it_ ," Asuka warned over the com.

"Grr, bite me!" Mari snapped at Asuka. " _Warrant Officer Makinami, calm down right now. If you keep this up, we'll bring you back and I'll take your place_ ," Asuka warned. Mari looked at Asuka's com window with wide eyes. "You wouldn't!" Mari pouted.

" _I would. We're not sacrificing you for something we don't absolutely need. If I deem it necessary, I will pull you out of the volcano myself_ ," Asuka replied with a frown over the com.

Mari inhaled before letting out a sigh of frustration. "Fine. I'll... I'll calm down," Mari said dourly as she took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

Asuka's hard look soon softened, but she remained silent.

Unit 05 continued its journey for several more minutes until it finally reached the Angel's depth. Slowly rotating the Eva in its diving suit, Mari searched for the Angel, until she finally saw the large oval-shaped object resting on a ledge nearby. "I have located the Angel. I say again, I have located the Angel's egg. I am proceeding to capture it," Mari said as she moved Unit 05's limbs forward in the D-Type equipment.

**DEPTH AT 1780 METERS**.

The large and bulky arms of the diving suit swiftly moved forward as the capture box was slid under the gigantic egg. "Well, where have I seen  _this_  before?" Mari asked herself with a grin.

" _Mosura ya Mosura! Dongan kasakuyan Indo muu!_ " Mari sang as she slowly collected the giant egg in the large pressure-proof container. " _Rusuto uiraadoa! Hanba hanbamuyan, Randa banunradan! Tounjunkanraa! Kasaku yaanmu!_ " Mari sang in Indonesian.

**Back In The Mobile Command Center...**

Misato raised an eyebrow as Mari continued singing over the com. "Where have I heard that before?" she asked rhetorically. Meanwhile, Mana was scratching her chin in deep thought, until she snapped her fingers in realization.

"Holy shit, that's the Mothra Song!" Mana blurted out. Everyone turned to look at her with wide eyes and curious faces. "Well... it is," she said sheepishly, embarrassed by her outburst and everyone's subsequent reaction.

**Back In The Volcano...**

Mari continued singing to her hearts content as she managed to secure the Angel's egg inside the electromagnetic cage before closing the lid. "Yes!" Mari exclaimed happily. "All right, target secured! Get me out of here," Mari said into the com.

" _Affirmative. We're now pulling you back up_ ," Misato said over the com, relief clearly evident in her voice. Mari leaned back in her seat and let out a sigh before she reached up to a compartment and opened it to pull out a soda can. She then grabbed a special water-proof cap and a straw. "Here's to victory," Mari said with a smirk as the Eva began ascending through the magma.

" _Mari! Are you DRINKING a soda inside the entry plug!?_ " Asuka asked her incredulously over the com, a bewildered expression clearly written on the red-head's face through the com window. Mari rolled her eyes in response.

"No, I'm gonna shove it up my quim and ride it like a stallion.  _Of course_  I'm gonna drink it," Mari retorted. "Wouldn't even fit there anyway," she mumbled before she then heard Toji laughing over the com on Asuka's side. " _Holy shit! Ha-haa! That was great!_ " Mari heard Toji crack faintly through Asuka's com window.

After a few minutes of trying to place the cap on the soda can before opening it, Mari simply gave up and prepared to stab the thick plastic straw through the top. As she raised her one arm to bring the straw down, she heard an alarm sounding. "What the?" she asked as she looked up and saw the Angel's egg starting to move about in the container on the screen.

"Oh shit! It's hatching!" Mari exclaimed as she watched the Angel's egg start warping and stretching. "Misato, this is Mari! The Angel is hatching! It's hatching!" Mari shouted over the com.

" _Shit! It's awakening earlier than predicted_ ," Ritsuko's voice said over the com. "Predicted!? What the hell does that mean!?" Mari asked her. " _It means we thought we had more time before it hatched!_ " Ritsuko elaborated worriedly.

" _Mari! Just drop the Angel into the magma!_ " Misato barked over the com.

"I'm  _still in_  the magma!" Mari retorted into the com.

" _So!? Let go of it! It'll only slow down your retreat!_ " Misato shot back. " _Get out of the volcano and if the Angel follows, we can deal with it out here. Just get out of there!_ " Misato ordered.

"Affirmative! Dropping the Angel now!" Mari reported as she forced Unit 05 to let go of the electromagnetic cage. Mari watched as the Angel's egg soon melded around the creature as it broke free and ripped apart the cage, its shape blurred by the magma. "Damn! The magma isn't hurting it! It's swimming through it like a fish in water!" Mari reported into the com.

" _Just keep observing it and don't draw attention to the Eva. We'll have you out of there soon enough_ ," Misato replied over the com. Mari nodded her head in response. "I hope so," she muttered.

As Unit 05 ascended, Mari watched as the dark shape of the Angel swam around beneath her, before a strange high-pitched frequency entered her radio and com unit. "What is that  _sound!?_ " Mari shrieked. It reminded her of a baby wailing in some way.

" _Mari, we're increasing the speed of your ascent_ ," Misato said over the com. "Gotcha," Mari replied, only to frown when she heard something creak and groan. "Oh shit!" Mari swore as another coolant pipe burst. "Coolant levels are starting to fall!" Mari cried out.

_There's just enough left that I can exit the magma_ , Mari thought to herself as her Eva continued ascending, until a large dark shape swam up past her. "What the hell?" Mari asked, before she realized that it was the Angel. She soon felt and heard the cables of the crane shuddering as her Eva began to rock back and forth.

"Misato! The Angel's attacking the cables!" Mari cried out. Unit 05 continued to shake as the cables shuddered and swayed from the Angel's attack. "I don't know how long I can last!" Mari cried out fearfully.

" _Deploy your A.T. Field to neutralize the Angel's! That might make it vulnerable to the magma!_ " Misato recommended. Mari gulped and nodded her head before deploying her A.T. Field outward, noticing that the coolant levels entered a very brief period of stability as she did so, before they continued dropping. A high-pitched squeal was soon heard over the radio and through the Eva itself as the Angel cried out in pain from the Magma before it latched onto the wall of the volcano and began climbing its way up the rock.

" _Mari, this is Asuka. I'm standing by with a pallet rifle! Where is the Angel!?_ " Asuka asked, her face appearing in the small window on her main screen. "I don't know! It's above me somewhere... I think!" Mari replied as she began moving Unit 05's arms around in the D-Type equipment. She managed to grab the specialized D-Type Progressive Knife that had been attached to the gear before holding it in a combat-like stance.

Mari glanced around her screen, searching for the Angel. There was nothing around her or the Eva, but she knew that it was still there somewhere. It was either hiding in relative safety, or it was waiting for her. She hoped it was the former.

"Where is it?" Mari asked quietly with a gulp. She checked her screen again and again as she scanned for the Angel, but it was nowhere to be found. "Asuka... do you see anything above me?" Mari asked as Unit 05 continued rising through the magma.

" _Negative. I've got my rifle trained on the magma, so let me know when you're about to breach the surface. I don't want to shoot you by accident_ ," Asuka said.

"What? You can't tell where the cables are attached?" Mari asked her. " _Uh... right. Yeah, I-I can tell where those are_ ," Asuka replied sheepishly, an embarrassed look crossing her face on the com window.

Meanwhile, several dozen meters away, a large brown object on the side of the volcano wall began to change shape. Its back began to split apart and stretch into large wings, while its body elongated. The Angel began to change color from dark brown to pale cream, and its mouth stretched as its core shifted onto its forehead. Its arms began shrinking in before bulging out in places, soon forming a large clawed tip on the end of each arm, while a small facial structure began to grow out of its head just beneath the core. A blue orb began to form inside its mouth, which grew large and became filled with sharp teeth. The strange infantile Angel had become a winged serpent now.

As Sandalphon, now in its Daimei form, looked up, it saw the red figure of Unit 02 standing over the edge of the volcano's rim. It quickly shot itself out of the magma, speeding through the air as the hot liquid rock fell from its wings back down to the pool below. Unit 02 stepped back in surprise as the winged serpent rose into the air, shooting up past the red cyborg and flying straight towards one of the U.N. planes overhead.

"It can fly!" Asuka cried out inside her entry plug. "Toji! Remember your training! Short, controlled bursts," Asuka said over the com. " _Got it_ ," Toji replied as he made Unit 04 track the Angel through the air with its pallet rifle.

"Mari, can you hear me!?" Asuka asked over the com. " _I'm still here. What's going on up there!?_ " Mari asked as Unit 05 slowly breached the surface of the magma. The crane continued pulling it up, with some difficulty thanks to the heat of the magma clinging to the cables.

Asuka forced Unit 02 down the slope and away from the rim of the volcano before taking up a kneeling position beside the crane. "The Angel has taken flight Mari! It's... Oh Scheiße!" Asuka swore as the Angel destroyed one of the planes above them before diving back down towards their position. Asuka forced Unit 02 to raise its rifle and aim it at the Angel, which opened its mouth to show the blue orb inside glowing.

The blue orb glowed brightly, just before a beam shot out of it and cut into the ground near Unit 02 and the crane. Unit 02 opened fire with its pallet rifle, sending a three-round burst at the approaching Angel. The rounds impacted against an orange hexagonal field in the air.

"Teufel noch mal!" Asuka swore in German. "It's too far away," she added. There was no way she could neutralize the Angel's A.T. Field with the distance between them. The blue orb began to glow again, just before another burst was fired... from Unit 04's pallet rifle.

The Angel changed direction and began moving towards Unit 04. "Toji! What are you doing!?" Asuka asked him over the com. " _Distracting it! Get Makinami out of the volcano! I'll... uh, I'll keep it away from you until then!_ " Toji replied with some nervousness. He was in over his head, and he  _knew it_.

"Okay. Just remember to keep moving. Don't stay in one spot," Asuka told him over the com. " _Gotcha! I mean, affirmative!_ " Toji replied over the com.

Inside the entry plug of Unit 04, Toji gulped as he aimed and fired at the flying Angel again, watching as the large bullets impacted against an orange hexagonal field. "Come on, ya bastard," Toji muttered as he made Unit 04 step to the side before firing another burst at the Angel, hitting its A.T. Field again.

The Angel dove towards Unit 04, its mouth opening again to shoot out a blue beam. Toji forced Unit 04 to dive out of the way as the beam cut into the ground where the Eva had been standing just seconds earlier. Raising the pallet rifle again, Toji forced Unit 04 to fire the weapon while lying on the ground, once again hitting the Angel's A.T. Field.

" _Suzuhara-san! When it gets close enough, expand your A.T. Field! You know how to do it!_ " Mana cried out over the com. "Right!" Toji replied before he forced Unit 04 to roll over to avoid the blue beam again. Unfortunately, this caused the Eva to lose its grip on the rifle.

As Unit 04 stood up, Toji noticed the weapon lying on the ground and forced the Eva to reach for it, only to be caught off-guard as the Angel smacked into him from above, knocking the Evangelion onto the ground. Sandalphon swooped back into the air, circling the area above the fallen Evangelion before turning its sights on the red Eva currently helping an olive green Eva get out of a giant bulky white suit.

"No! Asuka, its heading your way again!" Toji shouted over the com. Unit 02 turned to face the Angel before firing its pallet rifle again, hitting the A.T. Field once more before the Angel slammed itself into the red giant, knocking it into the other Eva and sending them both tumbling down the slope of the mountain. "Asukaaaa!" Toji cried out before he picked up the pallet rifle and fired at the Angel again, drawing its attention towards himself once more.

As the Angel turned itself towards Unit 04, it began diving towards him again, its mouth opening up as the blue orb began to glow again. Toji forced Unit 04 to begin running towards the Angel, hoping to close the distance in time to neutralize the A.T. Field. As the two angelic beings drew closer to one another, Toji deployed Unit 04's A.T. Field, causing a brief shimmer to appear in the air as Sandalphon's Field was neutralized.

Skidding Unit 04 to a halt, Toji aimed and fired a burst at the orb, missing. He quickly checked the weapon's ammo counter, seeing only three rounds left. Remembering what Mana had taught him, he switched the firing mode to semi-auto and fired a single round at the red orb, hitting it but not cracking it. He fired a second round as the Angel charged up its beam attack.

Toji grimaced as he fired the final shot, hitting the Angel in its core one last time, breaking through it as the blue beam shot out, cutting through the air over Unit 04's shoulder and hitting the ground as it began to dissipate. "I did it!" Toji exclaimed victoriously. The Angel, now dead, dove towards Unit 04 before crashing into it and sending both of them tumbling onto the ground.

" _Toji!_ " Asuka called out worriedly over the com. " _Toji, can you hear me!? Please respond!_ " Asuka barked over the com.

"I... I can hear you," Toji said. He looked down at the safety harness and thanked the deceased men and women of Second Branch for putting it in the entry plug of Unit 04. "I'm alive. I'm... I'm alive," Toji said as he opened up a com window on his main screen, seeing Asuka's worried expression change to one of relief as she let out a sigh and smiled at him.

Another window soon appeared, showing Mari's face. " _Hey, I'm alive too! Don't I get anyone to fret over me!?_ " Mari asked. "Mari, I'm glad you're alive. Now, I do have one little thing to ask of ya, though," Toji said. Mari and Asuka both looked at him expectantly.

"Could ya' help get this thing off'a me?" Toji asked them. Mari snickered and and smiled at Toji, while Asuka simply shook her head. " _Oh, Toji. What am I going to do with you?_ " she asked in bemusement over the com.

* * *

**Later, At A Nearby Hot Springs Resort...**

Stepping around the rim of the spring, Mana looked at the water with trepidation as she held her towel close to her. "Are you  _sure_  it's okay to not wear clothes in here?" Mana asked Misato, who was already relaxing in the spring. Misato looked up at her and nodded her head, while nearby, Mari sank herself into the water until only her head was above it.

With a sigh, Mana let her towel fall to the ground as she gingerly stepped into the water. Once she was far enough in, she allowed herself to sink down against some rocks, leaving only her head, neck, and shoulders exposed. "What a day, huh?" Mana asked Misato.

"Yep," Misato replied with a smile. Misato then looked over at Mari, who had her eyes closed and her hair hanging loose with a blissful expression on her face. "Hey, Mari? You doin' all right?" Misato asked the bespectacled girl. Mari replied by raising an arm out of the water and giving Misato a thumbs up.

"I've never been to an onsen before now," Mana said to Misato quietly. "I've seen them in various movies and TV shows from Japan, but... this is my first time being in one," Mana explained to Misato.

"If you'd already seen them before, then why did you ask if it was okay to be naked?" Misato asked her curiously.

"I thought that was just... I dunno, something that the filmmakers did to add sex appeal to their movies and TV shows," Mana replied. "I thought it was artistic license or something like that," Mana elaborated. Misato slowly nodded her head in understanding.

"I guess they don't have onsens in America?" Misato asked her. Mana shook her head.

"No. Not even with the changes in geography since Second Impact. We do have saunas, but... those are large wooden rooms with steam. They're nothing like  _this_ ," Mana said as she looked around and took in the natural beauty of the hot spring and the surrounding mountain range.

Looking around, Mana couldn't help but notice something... amiss. "Hey, Misato?" Mana asked curiously.

"Yeah?" Misato asked in response.

"Where's Asuka?" Mana asked her.

"Don't know. Maybe she's still in shock over being promoted to Second Lieutenant," Misato said in response.

Mana and Mari both looked at Misato in surprise. "Wait... she got  _promoted!?_ " Mari asked Misato in shock.

"Yep. She's proven herself to be quite the field leader, and since  _you_  haven't shown any willingness to lead the other pilots or give orders, that makes Asuka the one in charge. We need to have an established chain of command out there," Misato said. "Besides... she's earned it," Misato added.

"Oh," Mari said, slightly disappointed that she hadn't been promoted alongside Asuka. Then again, Asuka  _had_  shown far greater leadership capabilities than her, and she was still higher ranked than the rest of the Pilot Corps. "So... when did you tell her about the promotion?" Mari asked Misato.

"Oh, I... uh... I, um... I... huh. Oops," Misato said with a wince. Both girls looked at Misato curiously in response.

"Oops?" Mana asked her, sharing a glance with Mari. "What does 'oops' mean?" Mana asked Misato.

"It means... I may not have actually told her," Misato said sheepishly.

Mana and Mari both looked at Misato with opened mouths. "You promoted Asuka... and  _forgot_  to tell her!?" Mari asked Misato incredulously. Mana face-palmed herself in response to Misato nodding her head in affirmation.

"How the hell are you NERV's operations director!?" Mana asked in bewilderment, causing Mari to guffaw in agreement.

Meanwhile, in a different part of the hot springs, Asuka was busy indulging herself in her boyfriend, keeping Toji's mouth shut with her own as their hormones, and naked bodies, ran wild.

* * *

**ENDING THEME: (Shinwa) The Myth, by Bakufu Slump**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Toji receives some startling news, while Shinji and Rei finally admit their feelings for one another, and Gendo finds himself suffering an emotional and moral crisis as his heart begins to thaw.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: And that was Episode 15. Yeah, Sandalphon changed into the Diemay Angel, because... man that thing looks cool!
> 
> Also, with this episode, we establish that NERV does have a therapist working for them. However, the therapist is only there for show, mostly because of regulations passed by the Japanese government requiring an organization of that size to make sure that NERV's employees have access to psychiatric help if they need it. Therefore, Gendo hired only one therapist and left it at that, completely forgetting their existence until the incident with Leliel.
> 
> Also, the next episode will mark the end of Gendo's cold canon image, as he begins to question himself and his devotion to his scenario. No, he won't turn into a bright happy smiling man right away, because a happy and smiling Gendo is a terrifying thing to imagine, but he won't be as heartless as he was in the beginning of the story.
> 
> Also, with Rei being "born" in September, she was technically 15 at the start of this story. She is now 17 years old. Shinji, being born in June, had only just turned 16 a few days prior to arriving in Tokyo-3. Kensuke is... I guess, 17 or something. Toji and Asuka, however, both were born in the tail-end of 2025, making them older than the other pilots by default. This means that they will both be turning 18 by the time of a critical plot point in the next episode. So, the story will be changing its rating to M either next episode or the following one.
> 
> As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of the episode and/or story so far in your reviews! They're always appreciated, no matter how critical they are!


	16. The Calm Before The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toji and Asuka make one little mistake... which eventually begins growing into something bigger as time goes by.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

 **WARNING** : This episode contains lime and citrus content. It may potentially be considered  _ **NOT SAFE FOR WORK**_.

Also, this episode is going to be heavy on emotional content and stuff, so... if you want an Angel battle, just re-read the previous episode. Or wait until the next episode, which is going to be mostly one long battle against a very specific Angel. Because, after this episode... the story starts going into dark territory. Minds get ravaged, hearts get broken, sanity slips, and this train of turmoil isn't stopping until we reach the end.

Music I listened to while writing this episode includes  _Neon Genesis Evangelion Original Soundtrack 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _The Fifth Element_  (1997) by Eric Serra,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu & Masamichi Amano & Yoichi Murata,  _Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo_  (2012) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Kare Kano_  (1998) by Shiro Sagisu, and  _Lethal Weapon 2_   _Original Soundtrack_ (1989) by Michael Kamen & Eric Clapton & David Sanborn.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _Misato_ ,  _Ritsuko_ ,  _The Heady Feeling Of Freedom_ ,  _Good Or Don't Be_ ,  _Rei-II_ ,  _Asuka Strikes_ ,  _A Crystalline Night Sky_ ,  _When I Find Peace Of Mind_ ,  _Hedgehog's Dilemma_ ,  _Rei I_ ,  _Yoko_  (performed by Yoko Takahashi),  _Mugen Houyou_  (performed by Yoko Takahashi).

Music From  _The Fifth Element_  (1997):  _Leeloominai_ ,  _Mina Hinoo_ ,  _Koolen_ ,  _Badaboom_ ,  _Leeloo_ ,  _Pictures Of War_ ,  _Human Nature_ ,  _Protect Life_ ,  _Little Light of Love_  (performed by Eric Serra).

Music From  _Lethal Weapon 2 Original Soundtrack_  (1989):  _Cheer Down_  (by George Harrison),  _Riggs_ ,  _Knockin' On Heaven's Door_.

Music From  _Kare Kano_  (1998):  _Coexistence And Co-Prosperity_ ,  _We Meet Only To Part_ ,  _Souichiro Arima I_ ,  _Souichiro Arima II_ ,  _Yukino Miyazawa V (Nocturne)_ ,  _Yukino Miyazawa IV (Kanon)_ ,  _Into A Dream III_  (performed by Atsuko Enomoto and Chihiro Suzuki),  _Avan Title_ ,  _Treasure Every Meeting._

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _A01 - Rei-I_ ,  _F02 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

Music From  _Rebuild Of Evangelion 2.0_  (2009): Um... yeah, nothing I listened to from this didn't already exist in the  _Kare Kano_  soundtracks.

Music From  _Rebuild Of Evangelion 3.0_  (2012):  _L'Apotre De La Lune (2 Pianos)_ ,  _L'Apotre de la Lune (Orchestra)_ ,

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Mina Hinoo_  (Asuka and Toji's fateful day),  **02**.  _Hedgehog's Dilemma_  (Rei and Ritsuko),  **03**.  _Badaboom_  (Misato and Hyuga),  **04**.  _L'Apotre de la Lune (2 Pianos)_  (Gendo's realization),  **05**.  _A Crystalline Night Sky_  (Asuka's test),  **06**.  _Leeloominai_  (Asuka's confession to Toji),  **07**.  _A01 - Rei-I_  (Plans for Unit 03),  **08**.  _Riggs_  (Asuka and Toji/Mana's joke/Sakura's questions).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**09**.  _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 16: The Calm Before The Storm**

* * *

**The Suzuhara Household, Friday Evening, November 20, 2043**

"A-Are you... hrg, s-sure it's okay?" Toji asked with a gasp as Asuka rode him like a stallion, gasping for breath as sweat covered both of their bodies. "Y-Yeah! T-Today's, ahn, my safe day," Asuka replied with a smile as she looked down at Toji's face.

"Th-This is... the third- ah -time today w-without- ah -a c-condom! Y-Yer  _sure_  it's, ugh, s-safe!?" Toji asked, straining his brain to think properly.

"P-Posi-ahn! Positive!" Asuka replied as she increased her pace, sweat dripping off of her and onto Toji with every movement. She could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage as her movements soon reached a furious speed and tempo. She felt a warmth coiling in her belly, preparing itself for the moment when it could finally spring out and engulf the rest of her body.

"Almost..." Asuka grunted as she raised herself up and down and rocked herself back and forth, her eyes darting from the ceiling to the walls to Toji and back again as she found concentrating on anything other than her current actions increasingly difficult. "Almost there," she grunted again as she looked down at her boyfriend. She could tell that he was close. They both were.

 _So close_ , Asuka though to herself.  _Just a litte bit more..._ "Almost... _oh fuuuuuck!_ " Asuka gasped with a smile as she convulsed and shuddered on top of Toji, that warm coil in her belly finally springing loose and making every inch of her body tingle as though she were on fire. Toji grunted and thrusted his hips upwards as he screwed his eyes shut.

"Asuka! I... I-gyaaahh!" Toji let out with a gasp he joined Asuka in bliss. Asuka shuddered on top of him as she milked him for all he was worth, her orgasm still rippling through her as Toji gave her everything he had. Asuka gasped for breath as she rode out her climax, her vision filling with stars until she could move no more.

Asuka soon fell forward and laid herself on top of Toji, gasping for breath. "I... I love you," she whispered before tilting her head to kiss Toji. Toji returned the kiss slowly, before both 17 year-olds closed their eyes and fell asleep, neither of them aware of the fact that it was  _not_  Asuka's "safe" day, as the half-German girl had miscalculated her menstrual cycle.

* * *

**Deep Inside NERV HQ, Saturday, November 21, 2043**

Floating inside a large container of LCL, Rei Ayanami felt the deep recesses of her mind being probed by the transfer equipment. Opening her eyes, Rei watched as Ritsuko Akagi looked at a data pad in her hands before glancing up at her and nodding her head. Ritsuko then walked over to a nearby control panel and pressed some buttons.

A few minutes later, Rei felt the probing slowly cease, before the LCL tank began to drain itself of its orange liquid contents. When it was empty, she climbed out, courtesy of a special ladder, and grabbed a towel before making her way over to a special shower stall, washing the LCL off of her body before drying off. After returning to the main room, Ritsuko smiled at Rei.

"Well, I think we only need to do this a few more times and then the Dummy Plug system will be ready for lab testing," Ritsuko said proudly. Rei nodded her head quietly. "Is something wrong?" Ritsuko asked Rei.

"Doctor Akagi... I have... some questions," Rei began hesitantly. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at the blue-haired girl.

"Go ahead and ask," Ritsuko said.

"Doctor Akagi... for the past several months, when I am around Shinji... I feel happy. I feel a warmth inside of me that makes me content and satisfied," Rei said.

Ritsuko's eyes widened.  _Oh shit, she's in love_ , Ritsuko realized.  _Although... given that she's already defied Gendo's orders once... perhaps this could be useful. This may be just the wrench I need to throw into Gendo's scenario and turn him away from causing a controlled Third Impact_ , Ritsuko thought to herself.

"But lately, I have been yearning for more. I wish to let my feelings be known to Shinji, but I do not know if he will reciprocate them. He knows that I am a clone of the original Ayanami Rei, but he does not know that I am also a partial clone of Lilith," Rei continued. "If he were to find out, I do not know how he will react," Rei said with a frown.

Ritsuko quietly nodded her head. While she honestly thought that Misato might be a better choice to Rei to expose her emotional side to and ask for guidance, the girl's unique nature meant that Misato did not have the clearance to know about Rei's angelic origins. And Gendo and Fuyutsuki were simply out of the question if Rei wanted guidance on how to seek a romantic relationship with Gendo's son.

"Doctor Akagi... I... I also yearn for more than just being around him. I... I... I wish for... ph-physical intimacy, such as the kind that Lieutenant Sohryu shares with Airman Suzuhara. Sometimes, at night, I think of him and I become aroused. Lately, I have been having dreams of he and I doing things with one another that feel good and... I wish to make those dreams a reality. I am no longer satisfied with only masturbating while thinking of Shinji. I yearn for more," Rei admitted. Ritsuko's eyes went as wide as possible.  _Well... I...I guess it was only a matter of time_ , Ritsuko thought to herself.  _It's a good thing I've already given her The Talk_.

"I know that because of my partial Angelic makeup, I cannot get pregnant, but what if the scenario is averted and I survive longer than expected? What if Shinji wants children? What if...  _I_  want children?" Rei asked Ritsuko.

Ritsuko's brain quickly slammed to a halt before it started itself up again. "W-Well... you could always adopt," Ritsuko said, blurting out the first thing that came to her mind.

"But... if I cannot produce children for him, what if he seeks the attention of another? What if he no longer views me as a whole person because of this deficiency?" Rei asked fearfully.

Ritsuko sighed.  _Okay, Ritsuko. Time to put on your mommy gloves and reassure your daughter... even if you can't tell her just yet that she's yours_ , Ritsuko thought to herself.

"Rei, listen to me carefully," Ritsuko said firmly. "Just because you cannot produce children in the manner of regular humans, that does  _not_  make you any less of a person. I think that Shinji would tell you that as well," Ritsuko said. Rei looked at Ritsuko curiously.

 _Doctor Akagi has never given me guidance of this nature before now. Why is she doing so now? I have always... secretly... wanted this, however_ , Rei thought to herself.

"Doctor Akagi, if I tell Shinji of my feelings, should I reveal my connection with Lilith to him as well?" Rei asked Ritsuko.

"No. Not unless one of us gives you permission. If anything, tell Shinji that the cloning process wasn't perfect, and that's why you cannot get pregnant," Ritsuko told her. Rei frowned at being told to lie to someone close to her. "In time... depending on how things develop, we may give you permission, but until then, just do as I've said. Please, Rei," Ritsuko said gently to the girl.

Rei nodded her head in understanding.

"Oh, and Rei? If Shinji does reciprocate your feelings, take things slowly. Don't just jump right into sexual intercourse. Don't rush things," Ritsuko said to her. Rei nodded her head again in understanding before she grabbed her clothes and began dressing herself.

When she was finished, she began walking over to the door. Before opening the elevator door, Rei turned around and looked at Ritsuko. "Doctor Akagi... thank you. I will give much consideration to your words," Rei said, before opening the elevator door and entering. The door slid closed and began its ascent to the upper levels, leaving Ritsuko alone in the lab.

Ritsuko sat down in her chair and shook her head with a sigh.

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment, Sunday, November 22, 2043**

Looking across the table at Shinji, Rei quietly ate her breakfast. The previous evening had been spent in the company of both Shinji and Misato, as Misato had been given the day off. While it was nice to spend time with Misato, who had become a quasi-mother figure for Rei in addition to an older-sibling type figure, a combination that puzzled Rei every time she thought about it, she had been hoping to spend time alone with Shinji.

Today, however, Misato had to go into NERV, and that meant Rei and Shinji would be alone until well into the evening. There was plenty of time for them to discuss things. It had been three hours since Misato had left the apartment, and Shinji was currently finishing up his homework. Rei had already completed her assignments, and was simply waiting for Shinji to finish.

 _Perhaps... if I help him, we can discuss things quicker_ , Rei thought to herself. Scooting closer to Shinji on the couch, Rei removed herself from the cushion and sat on the floor next to him. "Let me help," Rei said softly, prompting Shinji to look at her in surprise.

"Uh... sure," Shinji replied, blushing at the close space between the time of them. Rei simply smiled at him before she began reading the questions to herself.

Ten minutes later, Shinji's homework was finished. "Thanks, Rei," Shinji said with a smile, causing Rei to blush in response.

"You are... welcome," Rei said. "Shinji... there is something I wish to discuss with you," Rei said, causing Shinji to nod his head.

"Yeah?" he asked her.

"Shinji, for the past several months, you and I have been growing closer on an emotional level, have we not?" Rei asked him. Shinji nodded his head. "I wish to continue growing closer. Shinji, do you like me?" Rei asked him.

Shinji nodded his head.

"Do you like me... as a friend? Or do you wish for... something more?" Rei asked him nervously.

"I... " Shinji stammered.  _If I say yes, will she reject me? I mean... I've been dreaming of a moment like this for five months now. Maybe I really should have kissed her before jumping into the Eleventh Angel. It was the perfect opportunity and I blew it_ , Shinji thought to himself.

"I... want more," Shinji finally admitted.

Rei's eyes lit up and a bright smile graced her lips, mesmerizing Shinji with its exuberance.  _She's so... beautiful when she smiles_ , Shinji thought to himself.  _I'd like to make her smile more often_ , he added mentally.

"Shinji... I too wish for a closer relationship. I... I wish to... be your... girlfriend. I believe that is the term used," Rei said, blushing and looking away. Unbeknownst to Rei, this is the exact same behavior that Ritsuko Akagi would display when  _she_  had been her age.

Shinji smiled at Rei's request. "Well... I'd... I'd like to b-be your... boyfriend," Shinji admitted, keeping his eyes locked onto Rei's face. Rei slowly turned her head to look at him again, her smile brightening.

"I accept," Rei said contently. "And since we are a couple... may we go on dates?" Rei asked him.

 _Going on dates? Just the two of us? That... sounds nice. Yeah, I think I'd like that_ , Shinji thought to himself with a smile. "Absolutely," he replied.

Rei nodded her head happily. "In that case... may I kiss you?" Rei asked Shinji with a blush.

Shinji's mind went blank for a second, before it started up again.  _YES! Say yes, you dumb fuck! Say yes! Say yes!_  "Uh..."  _Fucking say yes, dammit! SAY YES! SAY YES!_  "Y-Yes!" Shinji blurted out.

Rei smiled and reached her arms out before pulling him towards her, tilting her head and opening her mouth to brush her lips against his, prodding at his lips with her tongue for entrance. Shinji quickly complied and began returning her kiss with equal, but awkward, fervor. Both young adults slowly made out in the living room, ignorant of the genetically engineered beer-guzzling penguin walking in on them, who promptly turned around.

 _Nope! I'm heading straight for the bath_ , Pen-Pen thought to himself as he waddled away from the couple.  _I do not need to see this_.

* * *

**The Pilots Apartment Complex, Monday, December 21, 2043**

Getting out of bed, Asuka tiredly blinked away the cobwebs of sleep, before she slowly made her way out of the room. Mari was just exiting the bathroom when Asuka felt a horrible feeling in her stomach. Quickly rushing into the bathroom, the 18 year-old lifted the lid of the toilet and emptied the contents of her stomach into the bowl.

"Was habe ich gegessen?*" Asuka asked herself in German. She stayed in the bathroom for another thirty minutes until the nausea went away, before finally relieving herself into toilet (after flushing it) and washing her hands and brushing her teeth. When she exited the bathroom, she made her way into the kitchen, where Mari and Kaji were both already eating breakfast.

"Morning, Asuka," Kaji said with a smile. His smile turned into a frown as he noticed Asuka's sluggishness. "Hey, are you okay?" Kaji asked his surrogate daughter with concern.

"Yeah, I just... I think I ate something that didn't agree with me before bed," Asuka replied, remembering a particular sandwich that she had eaten the night before. Nothing had seemed wrong with it when she'd eaten it, but perhaps that was due to the condiments she'd added to it.

"I told you that bread was stale," Mari said as she ate a pancake.

"It tasted fine to me," Asuka retorted. "At least... it did when I ate it," she added as an afterthought.

"Well, if you have to keep going to the bathroom all day because of your stomach, just remember it's your own fault," Mari said between bites of her pancake. Asuka rolled her eyes at Mari before sitting down and grabbing a plate of pancakes for herself.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 High School, Tokyo-3, Hakone, Japan, Thursday, December 24, 2043**

Over the summer break, Class Representative Hikari Horaki had taken a special elective course for becoming a teacher in her future. Currently, with their new teacher calling in sick, Hikari had decided to become the substitute herself. Because of how much time she had put into actually doing the regular duties of a teacher the previous school year, the rest of the school's staff reluctantly agreed to let her do so for the day, seeing that she had indeed accumulated a lot of experience.

Hikari Horaki passed out the assignments to her fellow students diligently. As she passed by Mana, the red-head gestured for her to lean over. "Hey, I think something's wrong with Sohryu-san. She's been acting weird the past couple of days," Mana whispered into Hikari's ears.

Hikari raised an eyebrow. "Really? I'll ask her if something's wrong," Hikari whispered back, before placing the class assignment on Mana's desk. As Hikari made her way around the room, she eventually stopped in front of Asuka's desk. The half-German girl looked tired, and she was squinting, as though the lights were bothering her.

"Asuka, are you feeling okay?" Hikari asked her quietly. Asuka looked up at the class representative/teacher in training.

"Why do you ask?" Asuka asked her.

"Well... you just don't look so good right now. Are you feeling sick?" Hikari asked her worriedly. Toji caught part of the conversation and glanced over in their direction.

"I-I'm fine. Just a stomach bug or something," Asuka said tiredly.

"Are you sure?" Hikari asked her. "Kirishima-san said that you've been like this for a few days now. Are you sure that you're okay?" Hikari asked her. Asuka was about to protest, but she felt too tired.

"Look, I... I'm fine," Asuka replied. "Just give me the assignment, please?" Asuka requested. Hikari nodded her head reluctantly before giving Asuka the paper. She continued on her way to the rest of the students. Unknown to Asuka, Rei was looking at her curiously, before glancing over at Toji, and then back at Asuka.

 _Asuka's symptoms are not those of a stomach virus. I know they are the symptoms of something else, but what is it? I have an extensive knowledge of medical information, thanks to Doctor Akagi lending me numerous medical texts and documents over the years, but... I must observe Asuka more frequently to determine the true cause of her illness. I do hope she has not contracted something serious_ , Rei thought to herself.

 _I also hope that her frequent sessions of intercourse with Suzuhara have not exposed him to whatever she is suffering from. That would certainly cause Misato and Commander Ikari to interfere with their relationship, as it would mean that their intimacy has caused a problem with their piloting ability_ , Rei thought worriedly.  _I do not wish to see them forced apart from one another. They seem so happy together_.

 _Perhaps... I shall speak with Doctor Akagi? If I can get Doctor Akagi to examine Sohryu, perhaps this illness of hers can be determined and dealt with appropriately before it becomes any worse_ , Rei thought to herself.  _Yes. That's what I shall do. Or... if these symptoms persist into our next sync test, Doctor Akagi will notice them herself and examine Sohryu of her own_ _volition_ , Rei realized, as she remembered that there was a sync test that weekend.

* * *

**Urameshi Bar & Grill, Tokyo-3, Later That Evening...**

Looking up from his plate of food, Makoto Hyuga smiled at Misato. "Hey, uh, thanks for bringing me out here with ya," Makoto said before he began eating his noodles. Misato nodded at him while slurping some of her own noodles.

"Hey, no problem!" Misato chirped in response after swallowing her food. "This is what friends do," she added hastily, almost as an afterthought. Her slowly growing feelings for the bespectacled man sitting across from her had  _absolutely nothing_  to do with her inviting him out to eat with her. Absolutely not. There was no connection at all. Period. "They, well, spend time together and stuff," she added once more, more to convince herself than Makoto.

"So... why didn't you invite Doctor Akagi out here with us? I mean, aren't you guys close friends?" Makoto asked Misato curiously. A pensive look overcame Misato's face.

"We were... but Ritsuko's got too many secrets. We've been drifting apart for a while now," Misato replied with a frown before she took another bite of her meal. "We used to be inseperable back in college, but now... sometimes it's like I don't even know her anymore," Misato elaborated.

"You sure?" Makoto asked her. "I mean, you guys seem to get along okay whenever I see you together at HQ," he added.

"That's a professional relationship, Makoto. Our  _friendship_ , however... It's starting to crumble. It has been for a while now," Misato added. "I...  _miss her_ ," she whispered quietly.

"Well... you could try talking to her. Just let her know that you don't want your friendship to die, you know?" Makoto suggested. Misato sighed as she took another bite of her meal before swallowing.

"I wish it were so easy."

* * *

**The Katsuragi/Ikari/Ayanami Apartment...**

Shinji watched with a smile as Rei let out a small cry of pleasure and shuddered, before he pulled his hand out from between her legs. Rei looked at him with a smile as she tilted her head towards him to kiss him, which he eagerly complied with. "Do you... want to do more?" Shinji asked her after pulling away.

Rei nodded her head and began to undress, prompting Shinji to do the same. Once both of them were wearing only their birthday suits, Rei began to frown. "Is... is something wrong?" Shinji asked Rei, noticing her frown.  _Does she think I'm too small? She said there was nothing wrong with me earlier when she was sucking me off_ , Shinji thought to himself.

"Shinji, I... you are aware that many of my 'unique' features, such as my hair and eye colors, are a result of me being a clone, correct?" Rei asked him hesitantly.

"Well... I kind of figured they were, but I never could find an appropriate time to bring up the subject in conversation," Shinji replied.

"Shinji, because the cloning process was somewhat faulty... I do not have a properly functioning reproductive system," Rei said nervously. Shinji raised an eyebrow. "I... I cannot bear children. I cannot conceive," she clarified sadly.

Shinji walked over and placed his arms around her to hug her. "That's okay. Besides, we're not in our twenties yet. And anyway, that doesn't make you any less of a person or a woman, Rei. Besides... I'm not too keen on becoming a father so soon in my life. Given how things are between myself and my own father... I can't imagine how much I might screw up with my own children if I ever have any," Shinji said.

"Then... you do not have any reservations about... engaging in intercourse with me?" Rei asked him.

"No reservations," Shinji said with a confident smile. Rei smiled at him before pushing him down onto his futon. She eagerly crawled on top of him, much like a big cat in the Savanna approaching its prey, before slowly and cautiously mounting him. "No... ugh... reservations... at... at all," Shinji let out with a smile as Rei began to ride him in a slow and slightly awkward manner.

 _Mind going... can't th-think now. Brain no-no longer... brain go bye-bye now_ , Shinji thought incoherently to himself as he was quickly brought to the first climax of the night. While Shinji spent a few moments regaining his senses, Rei used her hands to stimulate herself to achieve bliss as well. When Shinji realized that he had not been able to bring Rei to orgasm, he decided to try to fix that with the second round... and the third... and the fourth, as he found his stamina slowly increasing with each session as he and Rei spent the rest of the night screwing each other's brains out, until they were both completely exhausted and covered from head to toe in sweat and other bodily fluids. It was the perfect Christmas gift to one another.

**Mana Kirishima's Apartment, Slightly Earlier Time...**

" _Glass? Who gives a shit about glass!?_ "

Mana rolled her eyes at the TV. "Uh...  _you_  will, John, by the end of the movie anyway," she said. Mana smiled as the movie continued, glancing down briefly at the other movies she had waiting for her Christmas Eve marathon.

Sitting on the couch next to her were Kaji and Mari, both of whom had decided to spend Christmas Eve with Mana so that she wouldn't be alone. Asuka was currently spending Christmas Eve with Toji's family at his house. She had made sure to take an extra set of clothes along with her in the event that she wouldn't be able to make it back to the apartment.

* * *

**Ritsuko Akagi's Apartment, Later That Evening...**

"R-Ritsuko!" Gendo let out before he slumped down on top of his lover. After taking a few breaths, his eyes widened as he realized what he had just said.  _I... I have... betrayed Yui. My heart... has opened itself up to another_ , Gendo realized, a tornado of different emotions whirling through him as he looked into Ritsuko's eyes.

Ritsuko reached a hand up to Gendo's face to gently caress it. "It's okay," she whispered to him affectionately. Gendo just stared back at her, the multiple emotions running through him becoming more visible on his face with every passing second.

Hoping to ease Gendo's mind, Ritsuko leaned forward and kissed him. Gendo slowly returned the kiss, before breaking away and sliding out of Ritsuko, laying on his side for a few minutes. Ritsuko looked at him with concern as he slowly sat up on the edge of the bed.

Gendo looked over his shoulder at Ritsuko, wondering how long he had been holding these feelings at bay. Had he called her name before without realizing it? And since she had now claimed a spot inside his heart, what did that mean for his scenario?

 _If my heart is now open to another, do I still pursue my scenario? Do I still try to reunite with Yui? Yui... I don't know what to do anymore_ , Gendo thought to himself.

He thought back to the last time he had seen his wife.

' _Gendo, take care of Shinji for me,' Yui said to Gendo as she prepared to enter the entry plug of Unit 01. Gendo smiled at her._

_'Don't worry, Yui. Shinji will be fine until you get back,' Gendo said to his wife with a smile, blissfully unaware of what was soon going to transpire. A strange look appeared on her face for a moment, before it promptly disappeared._

_That look she had... what did it mean?_

Gendo looked at the floor as he began to think about Yui's final words to him. At the time, he had thought she'd meant for him to take care of Shinji while she was in the entry plug and keep the boy out of trouble.

 _Take care of Shinji for me_.

Gendo blinked rapidly as things finally became clear to him.

_Did she... she meant for me to take care of him while she was_ _**inside** _ _Unit 01's **core!?**  But if she did, then... she... she... she _ _**knew** _ _what was going to happen! She_ _**KNEW** _ _, didn't she!? But why? Why wouldn't she tell me what she was planning? Yui... what secrets did you hold from me while we were married?_

"Gendo?" Ritsuko asked, breaking the man out of his stupor. Gendo looked at Ritsuko with a pained expression on his face. "Are you... okay?" Ritsuko asked him worriedly.

"No. I just realized something that I should have figured out a long time ago," Gendo said with sorrow in his voice. "Yui... knew what would happen that day," Gendo said. "She knew that she would be absorbed by Unit One's core. All this time, I'd thought that is was an accident, but... it's becoming clear to me now," Gendo continued, pausing for breath.

"Yui told me to take care of Shinji for her while she was gone. Until now, I'd always thought she'd meant for me to watch him until the contact experiment was over. My obsession with bringing her back had blinded me to the truth all these years," Gendo admitted somberly. "She was... the first person to ever love me like another human being. She was the first person to ever warm my heart," Gendo said as he looked at Ritsuko.

"I shared all of my secrets with her. I told her everything I ever felt. I opened my heart up to her. And in the end... she still kept her own secrets from me," Gendo said with a frown. "I loved her... with every fiber of my being, and now I wonder... why did she do what she did? Did she not realize that I would be broken by her loss?" Gendo asked rhetorically.

Ritsuko reached her arms forward and brought Gendo into a hug. "It's okay," Ritsuko whispered to him.

"This whole time... I neglected my son. I was afraid of him, Ritsuko. When he was born, it was one of the happiest and most terrifying days of my life. I had always feared... that he would steal Yui's love away from me," Gendo admitted.

"It's selfish, I know. But... I'd never felt loved by anyone until Yui came along. I didn't want to lose that love, and I began to fear my son," Gendo continued. "Until now, I was always so sure of what I was doing; always so sure of my goals, but now... I don't know what to do," Gendo said with a sigh.

Ritsuko briefly pulled away and looked him in the eyes, seeing the worn expression of a broken man. She then pulled herself back to Gendo and squeezed her arms around him. "I'm here, Gendo. I'll be by your side as long as I can," she said softly to him, feeling overwhelming sorrow for the man.

"Thank you... but I do not deserve it," Gendo replied quietly. "I abandoned my son because of my own selfish desires and fear. I ordered you to create Rei solely for the purpose of killing her to see my wife again. I... I do not deserve your affection," Gendo said mournfully.

"I don't care. I'm giving it to you anyway," Ritsuko said before she moved her head to kiss Gendo on the lips. "And it's not just affection, Gendo. I'm giving you my love," she added after breaking the kiss.

"You Akagi women are very stubborn," Gendo remarked.

Ritsuko simply smiled at him in return. "That we are," Ritsuko said in agreement. "Now, let me show you how far my stubbornness goes," she said as she slowly laid him back onto the bed.

* * *

**Deep Inside NERV HQ, Sunday, December 27, 2043**

Ritsuko frowned as she looked at Asuka's sync rate. "Hm... she's down several points," she muttered to herself. Glancing over at the scores for the others, she nodded in satisfaction. After learning from Rei that she and Shinji had begun dating, the duo had both seen an increase in their sync rates, although not too significant of an increase. The duo had also just had their suspensions lifted two weeks earlier, and were now making up for lost time with their sync tests, much to their mutual chagrin.

"Hm... Lieutenant Sohryu, your score's a little low today. I'd like to see you after the test is over," Ritsuko said into the com. " _Affirmative_ ," Asuka replied over the com. Ritsuko had been told by both Rei and Mana that Asuka had been behaving strangely for the past few days, but they hadn't elaborated other than Rei saying that Asuka may have caught a stomach virus of some kind.

**Medical Lab B-10, An Hour Later...**

Asuka sat on the edge of her chair as Ritsuko came over with a cart full of medical instruments and other things. "So... I hear you haven't been feeling well lately," Ritsuko said to the red-head as she took out her stethoscope and placed it against Asuka's chest. She was going to perform basic checkups as she slowly pulled information from the girl, before finally deciding on whether or not to try a more in depth test.

"Yeah. For a few days now. It's probably just a stomach bug," Asuka replied as Ritsuko pulled the stethoscope away. The faux-blonde then retrieved a cuff for measuring blood pressure and wrapped it around Asuka's left arm. The blood pressure was measured quickly on a notepad that Ritsuko had brought with her, before she moved on to the next test.

After the basic tests were all done, Ritsuko began asking more questions. "So... you've been feeling sick in the morning, right?" Ritsuko asked.

"Yeah, but it usually goes away in the afternoon," Asuka replied. Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at this statement.

 _She's been sexually active with Pilot Suzuhara, hasn't she? I need to get some blood samples from her_ , Ritsuko thought to herself as she retrieved a syringe, needle, and a plastic cup. Asuka's eyes widened as she noticed the needle.

"Uh... w-what's that for?" Asuka asked nervously.

"I'm going to get a sample of your blood. There's something I want to check on. Now, while I prepare this, I have more questions for you," Ritsuko replied as she applied some rubbing alcohol to a spot on the girl's arm. "So, has anything else seemed off recently?" she asked the pilot.

"Well... I've had an aversion to sunlight recently. Mana joked that I was turning into a gremlin when she found out," Asuka replied, wincing slightly as she felt the needle enter her arm. "I also think my plug suit needs to be adjusted," she continued.

"Really? Are you going through a growth spurt?" Ritsuko asked her.

"Well, my breasts feel a bit... bigger than usual," Asuka said. "Maybe I'm just filling out more now," she suggested. "I've also been getting some weird cravings lately as well. Like, food combinations that just seem bizarre, yet I somehow want them," Asuka said.

"Nausea in the mornings... sensitivity to sunlight... swelling of the breasts. Asuka, are your breasts becoming more sensitive as well?" Ritsuko asked her as she pulled the needle out of the girl's arm before placing a cotton swab on the spot and wrapping some gauze around the arm.

"Uh... well, kind of," Asuka admitted reluctantly.

"Hm... when was your last period?" Ritsuko asked her.

"M-My  _what!?_ " Asuka retorted.

"Your period. When was the last time you had your monthly cycle?" Ritsuko asked her.

Asuka began wracking her brain.  _The last time I bled was... oh no. No, that-that can't be right. No, it... it isn't possible! I've been using contraceptives this whole time! I... no... I haven't_ , Asuka realized as she remembered the one time she and Toji had done it raw.

"Oh mein Gott," Asuka muttered as her face blanched. "I... I... the last period was in early November. And I haven't gone through it yet this month," she said as she looked at Ritsuko with wide, fear-stricken eyes.

"Now, Asuka... this could just be a coincidence, but I'm going to need you to take a pregnancy test while I study your blood samples. I'll go get one from one of my supply cabinets," Ritsuko said as she stood up and walked over to one of the cabinets above a sink. She pulled out the box of pregnancy tests and opened it, retrieving one of the test kits inside while checking the date on it to make sure it was still good.

Walking over to Asuka, Ritsuko handed her the test kit. "There's a bathroom right over there. Follow the instructions and bring the test back to me when you're finished," Ritsuko said clinically. Asuka nervously nodded her head as she stood up and took the test with her to the bathroom.

**Two Hours Later...**

Ritsuko looked at the test results, before glancing over at Asuka. "Um, congratulations, Sohryu-san. You're, uh, pregnant," Ritsuko said. Asuka stared at her, before rushing over to a nearby trash bin and throwing up in it. Ritsuko walked over to the girl and put a hand on her back.

After emptying her stomach, Asuka began to cry. "No! This can't be happening to me," the 18 year-old whined. "My career is over," she sobbed. "I can't pilot Eva anymore," she added as tears began flowing down her cheek.

Ritsuko pulled the girl into a hug. "It's okay, Sohryu. You'll get through this. Besides, it's currently still in the first trimester. You still have time to decide whether or not you want to keep it," Ritsuko said.

Asuka looked up at her before launching herself into the woman's arms. Asuka had no idea if she was going to keep the child or not. It technically wasn't even a fetus just yet. Of course, that didn't make the decision any easier. After the devastating loss of life following 2nd Impact and the Impact Wars, several countries around the world had hastily enacted new laws to allow the increase in population, both by lowering the age of consent in many places and by making abortions very difficult to come by, even in advanced countries such as Japan.

"D-Doctor Akagi. I...I don't know if I want to keep it or not," Asuka mumbled. "I... I'm too young, but... I don't know what to do," Asuka cried.

"It's okay. You're still in the first trimester. Chances are high that this is only the fourth or fifth week since conception. You still have a few more weeks to make a decision, although you'll need to make one before the second trimester begins. If you keep it, though... you may not be able to continue piloting," Ritsuko said.

"The farther along the child develops, the more difficult it will be for you to sync with the Eva, I'm guessing, due to the increase in neural patterns as the fetus's brain develops. Just as well... I'm not entirely sure what being exposed to LCL constantly will do to the developing embryo. So, for now... I'm removing you from all future sync tests until you can make a decision. But don't be hasty. Take your time, Sohryu," Ritsuko said to the weeping girl.

Asuka stayed in Ritsuko's arms for several minutes as she calmed down. When she was finally able to think clearly, she stood up and her way to the door. Just as she reached the door, she turned to look at Ritsuko. "Um, Doctor Akagi? Can you... should I tell Toji before I make a decision?" Asuka asked her.

"Suzuhara? Is he the father?" Ritsuko asked Asuka. Asuka nodded her head in affirmation. "I see. If you wish, but if you tell him, that means both of you will need to make a mutual decision. If you wish to make a decision on your own... then keep this to yourself. However... I'd recommend telling Airman Suzuhara about it... if you plan on keeping it," Ritsuko added.

Asuka inhaled before nodding her head. "Okay. Th-Thank you... Doctor Akagi. I... I need to go clear my head. It may be a few days before I reach a decision," Asuka said.

"Take your time. Don't take too long, but don't rush either. Right now, the call is yours. Just be careful about it," Ritsuko said reassuringly. Asuka nodded her head before opening the door and exiting the room. Ritsuko looked back over at the blood samples she had collected. While the pregnancy test had shown that Asuka was indeed pregnant, running the blood work anyway would still be a good idea.

* * *

**The Kaji/Sohryu/Makinami Apartment, Later That Evening...**

Sitting down at the dinner table in the kitchen were Asuka, Mari, Toji (who had been invited over that morning by Asuka), and Kaji (who'd had the day off). As everyone quietly ate their food, Asuka glanced between Kaji and Toji as she chewed on her spaghetti. It was a special dish that Kaji had prepared, knowing that both Asuka and Mari had been fond of it back in Germany.

Looking up from her food, Mari noticed Asuka's nervous glances and raised an eyebrow. Asuka was oblivious to her sister-in-arms' observation of her. Mari slowly shook her head and resumed eating quietly. She would talk to Asuka later about whatever was bothering her.

 _What do I do? How do I tell him? Do I tell him, though? Of course. He has a right to know about it_ , Asuka thought to herself as she poked at her food.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Kaji asked as he noticed Asuka's odd behavior. Ordinarily, she would be digging into the food with gusto. Asuka looked up at Kaji and blinked in surprise, having been shaken out of her thoughts by Kaji's question.

"I... I just haven't been feeling good lately. The food's fine, though. It's just me," Asuka replied.

"I heard from Mari and Mana that you've been really sick a lot these past few mornings," Toji said between bites of his food. Kaji raised an eyebrow.

"Wait... several mornings in a row?" Kaji asked Asuka suspiciously. Because he'd often be scheduled to go into NERV early, he hadn't been around most mornings when the girls woke up.

Asuka slowly nodded her head. "I...I've been feeling better by the afternoon," she said nervously.

A thoughtful and worried expression overtook Kaji's face. He wasn't stupid. The next time he got the chance, he'd talk to Ritsuko and ask her to do some tests on Asuka.

Later, after dinner, Asuka had taken Toji into her bedroom to talk to him. Kaji, being the snoop that he was, had decided to stand by the door and eavesdrop, as had Mari, much to his consternation. Kaji shot Mari a look of annoyance, which she promptly ignored as she pressed an ear against the door.

Inside the bedroom, Toji said on the edge of Asuka's bed, while Asuka herself paced around the room, deep in thought. "So... uh, you said you had somethin' important to talk about," Toji said curiously. "You wanna... I dunno, talk about it?" he asked her.

Asuka stopped pacing and looked at him. "It... it's not that simple," Asuka said.

"Why not? Look, Red, somethin's buggin' ya. Come on, talk to me," Toji prodded. Asuka inhaled and exhaled in trepidation.

"I... it's not that easy. This isn't something that's easy for me to talk about," Asuka said, biting her lower lip as she tried to think of how to break the news to Toji.

"Well, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to guess what it is?" Toji asked her, slowly becoming exasperated by Asuka's behavior.

"N-No! I just... I just don't know how to say what I need to say," Asuka retorted.

"Well, just spit it out, Red! Come on, you said dis was important," Toji shot back.

"I  _can't!_ " Asuka fired back.

"Why not!?" Toji asked her, becoming frustrated.

"Because this affects  _both_  of us!" Asuka exclaimed.

"Well, what is it then!?" Toji asked her, annoyed by Asuka'd constant evasion and attempts to postpone telling him what she wanted to say.

"I... I don't know how to say it, okay!?" Asuka barked back at him.

With a frustrated sigh, Toji stood up. "Red, I can't help you with whatever's buggin' ya if you don't  _talk to me!_ " Toji growled at Asuka. Asuka frowned at him in response.

"I'm trying! You think this is easy!? Huh!? You think it's easy having your entire world flipped upside down in a single day!?" Asuka retorted vitriolically. Toji blinked at her in surprise. Outside the door, Kaji and Mari both looked at Asuka curiously as well, although Kaji had some suspicions about Asuka's behavior. He was just waiting to hear if they were right.

"Red, what are you talkin' about!? Is this about your meeting with Doctor Akagi earlier today?" Toji asked her.

"Yes! Yes, it is!" Asuka spat, her emotions rising to the surface.

"Then what's the problem!? Just tell me already!" Toji exclaimed. "Stop beatin' around the bush and just say what's buggin' ya!" Toji added in a frustrated tone.

"I  _CAN'T!_ " Asuka spat.

"Why the hell not!?" Toji fired back. "What's yer fuckin' problem!? What's so important that you have to drag me in here for privacy, but you can't actually tell me about!?" Toji yelled at her. "What is yer problem!?"

"My problem is that I'm  _ **PREGNANT!**_ " Asuka finally blurted out angrily.

Toji blinked at her in surprise, while Mari put a hand over her mouth to hide her gasp of shock. Kaji just slowly shook his head as his suspicions were confirmed. Now he had to start thinking of ways to deal with this development... and kill or maim Toji without being discovered.

"Yer... what?" Toji asked her, not quite believing what his girlfriend had just told him.

"I... I'm pregnant, Toji. I'm p-pregnant... and you're the father," Asuka said with a gulp, as she started to sniffle. "I'm pregnant," she said once more, tears starting to stream down her cheeks.

Toji stared at Asuka with wide eyes as he absorbed this information, before running a hand up through his hair. "Whoa," he said quietly with a gulp. He then looked at the floor for a few seconds in thought, before looking back at Asuka. "So... how far along are you?" he asked her.

"A few weeks. Do you remember that day in November, when I said it was my safe day?" Asuka asked him in response.

"Yeah," Toji replied, nodding his head. How could he not remember that day? It was the only time Asuka had ever let him screw her without a condom or some form of contraceptive.

"Yeah, I remember," Toji said.

"Well... I was wrong. Turns out... I hadn't measured the time between my periods correctly," Asuka admitted. "You'd asked me if I was sure about letting you cum inside me so many times, and each time I said yes," Asuka said. "I was so stupid," Asuka muttered as she leaned back against the wall of her room, the tears still falling down her cheek.

"No... yer not stupid," Toji said as he walked over to where Asuka was leaning, before reaching his arms around and pulling her into a tight embrace. "I shoulda pulled out when I had the chance, an' I didn't. We're both at fault here," Toji said as he moved his arms and hands up and down the shuddering girl's back to soothe her.

"I... I don't know... if I... if I want to keep it or not," Asuka said softly.

"W-We'll... we'll talk about dat later. Let's just... let's just take this one step at a time," Toji said quietly to her, still holding her tight as he kept rubbing his hands up and down her back to calm her down. "It'll be okay, Red. We'll get through dis," Toji said softly.

Soon, Asuka's sniffles stopped, and she looked up at Toji with a loving expression. "T-Toji? Do you know that... one of the symptoms of pregnancy... is an increased sex drive during the first trimester?" Asuka asked him with a glint in her eyes.

"Uh... n-no. I, uh, didn't know dat," Toji replied.

"I... I'm really stressed out right now. I... will you make me feel better?" Asuka asked him quietly. Toji slowly nodded his head before tilting it towards her, both of their mouths meeting for their tongues to start dancing. For the now 18 years-old Toji Suzuhara, today had been one very strange birthday.

Outside the room, Kaji and Mari slowly closed the door so as to give the couple their much needed privacy. Stepping away from the door, Kaji motioned for Mari to follow him into the living room, where they sat down on the couch. "Well... should we... I dunno, let her tell us on her own?" Mari asked her surrogate father.

"Yeah. That's exactly what we're gonna do," Kaji said with a sigh.

"So... will Asuka be prohibited from piloting after this?" Mari asked Kaji.

"Probably," Kaji said thoughtfully. "If Ritsuko knows... she's probably already informed Commander Ikari, which means... Asuka's not going to be on the pilot roster for much longer," Kaji said as he glanced over at the hallway. Mari silently nodded her head in agreement.

* * *

**Deep Inside NERV HQ, Monday Afternoon, December 28, 2043**

Standing in front of the door to Kaji's office, still wearing her school uniform, Asuka took a deep breath. "You can do this," she whispered to herself as she prepared to tell her surrogate father about her current condition. She looked over to her right, where Toji was standing while leaning against the wall.

"You sure you wanna do this alone?" Toji asked Asuka. Asuka nodded her head before looking at the door again. "Okay, but if you want me to come inside with you... just... you know, say the word, and I'll be in there," Toji said. Asuka nodded her head in affirmation.

"Thanks, but I want to do this by myself. It's... a father-daughter thing," Asuka said. Toji nodded his head in understanding. "You're strong, Asuka. You can do this," she said to herself again before she pressed a button next to the door.

" _Come on in_ ," Kaji said over the intercom. The door slid open and Asuka walked inside, closing the door behind her. Kaji was currently reading a report on something. He looked up at Asuka and smiled wearily at her. Instantly, Asuka knew that Kaji had already figured things out.

"K-Kaji... Dad?" Asuka asked nervously, causing Kaji's expression to soften as she stepped closer to his desk. "I... I need to talk to you about something. It's... important," Asuka said as she looked Kaji in the eyes.

"Is it about a certain medical report that Ritsuko sent to me this morning?" Kaji asked Asuka knowingly. Asuka slowly nodded her head in confirmation. Kaji let out a sigh as he set his papers down.

"Are you... upset with me?" Asuka asked Kaji nervously.

Kaji sighed yet again. "Am I upset? No," Kaji replied. "I'm not upset with you. I'm a little disappointed, but I'm not upset," Kaji said as he stood up and engulfed his daughter in a hug.

"At least not with  _you_ ," Kaji said, referring to Toji.

"Dad, he asked me several times if it was okay, and I said ' _yes_ ' every time. I was the one who made the mistake," Asuka said. "I thought it was my safe day... and it wasn't," she added quietly as she leaned into the hug, resting her head on Kaji's uniformed chest.

"If you say so," Kaji said softly. "Besides, as your dad, it's my  _duty_  to get angry at whoever impregnates you," Kaji joked, causing Asuka to chuckle.

"Dad... what's gonna happen to me? As an Eva pilot, I mean?" Asuka asked Kaji.

"Well... we're gonna have to talk to Misato about this. Ritsuko's report said that she's already cancelled all of your upcoming sync tests. Not everyone's, just yours. That being said... we'll also need to notify Commander Ikari, and... this is gonna be quite the process," Kaji said.

"Will I be... expelled from the Pilot Corps?" Asuka asked fearfully.

"I don't know. I'll see if I can get you transferred to a desk job or something for the duration of your pregnancy. You'll definitely need the money in the long run," Kaji said as he slowly stroked Asuka's hair in an effort to soothe her.

"About that... D-Dad? Sh-Should I... do you think I should keep it?" Asuka asked Kaji.

"That's... that's entirely up to you. That's your decision to make, honey. It's not my place to tell you what you should do with your body," Kaji said. "The decision is yours and yours alone," he added.

"Well... I think Toji should have a say in it. I mean, he  _is_  the father," Asuka said.

"R-Right. Of course," Kaji said, rolling his eyes. "Just... make sure that whatever you decide, it's a decision that you're comfortable with. Don't do it because it's what you think others expect of you," Kaji said. "You'll still got time, since you're in the first trimester. You don't have to make a decision today, Asuka. You've still got a few weeks left to decide," Kaji said softly.

"Thanks Dad," Asuka said as she hugged Kaji tightly.

"Hey, that's what I'm here for," Kaji replied with a smile.

* * *

**Gendo Ikari's Office, NERV HQ, Tuesday, December 29, 2043**

Sitting in front of Gendo's desk, Ritsuko waited for him to finish reading her report. "So," he said as he laid the papers down, "I take this to mean that the Dummy Plug will be ready for field testing soon?" Ritsuko nodded her head in affirmation.

"It's  _almost_  ready," she stated.

"Very well then. Ritsuko, which Evangelion do you think we should test it in?" Gendo asked her.

"I would suggest using Unit Two," Ritsuko said in response. Gendo raised an eyebrow, while Fuyutsuki stood by motionlessly. Because of Fuyutsuki's silence, Gendo had almost forgotten that he was in the room, until he spoke up.

"Unit Two? Is this because of Lieutenant Sohryu's... recent condition?" Fuyutsuki asked Ritsuko, who nodded her head in response. Both he and Gendo had read Ritsuko's medical report on the girl.

"Yes. While Units One and Four, being Lilith-based Evangelions, accept different pilots with relative ease, Unit Two and other Adam-based Evas have much more difficulty doing so. Just as well, given Lieutenant Sohryu's condition, I fear we may end up being short a pilot when the next Angel appears, depending on when it arrives," Ritsuko elaborated.

"Yes. That  _is_  worth taking into consideration," Gendo said, nodding his head in agreement. "Do we know when Unit Three will be sent our way from the States?" Gendo asked as he turned to look at Fuyutsuki.

"It should be here by early to mid-January by the latest estimates," Fuyutsuki said. "The Massachusetts Branch is almost finished with it. They'll be sending it to us along with the new weapons and equipment that Second Branch had developed before... the incident," he added.

"Good. When the weapons and Eva are delivered, I want the weapons tested by Unit Four, since Corporal Kirishima is likely to be familiar with whatever Barnes had developed. In addition, I will have Major Katsuragi promote Corporal Kirishima to the rank of Sergeant to ensure a more linear chain of command for the pilots, as Sohryu's condition will leave them without a proper field leader once the next Angel attacks," Gendo said.

"What about Warrant Officer Makinami?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.

"Warrant Officer Makinami has shown no intentions of leading the Pilot Corps, nor does she seem to possess the necessary skills needed for such a position. While she may hold the second-highest rank of the available pilots, Major Katsuragi has made it clear in her reports that Corporal Kirishima is the more adept leader, coming in second only to Lieutenant Sohryu in terms of command abilities during combat simulations. Although, Major Katsuragi's reports do note that Kirishima's leadership abilities have deteriorated to a degree since the incidents with Second Branch and the Eleventh Angel," Gendo said.

"Even though Makinami will be higher-ranked than Kirishima... it is quite likely that she will be following her subordinate's orders once Sohryu is no longer commanding them," Gendo finished. "If we are to hold off SEELE when the time comes... the pilots will need a capable field leader," he added.

"When do we test Unit Three?" Ritsuko asked Gendo.

"A week after its arrival. I want it taken to Matsushiro for inspection and testing. Make sure that the core and all internal components are... properly functional. I do not want a repeat of what happened to NERV Second Branch to occur here. We cannot afford such an incident this close to Lilith's physical location," Gendo said firmly.

"Who will be the pilot of Unit Three?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.

"Obviously, Airman Suzuhara," Gendo replied.

"Suzuhara won't be Sohryu's replacement?" Ritsuko asked him.

"No. There is an already existing backup pilot in Germany who can use Unit Two. When Lieutenant Sohryu is no longer capable of piloting, I will have Airman Nagisa flown in to replace her as Unit Two's pilot," Gendo explained.

"But... what happens to Sohryu?" Ritsuko asked him.

"She will be transferred to another position within NERV itself. She will retain her rank, but she will not be part of the Pilot Corps. How far along is she anyway?" Gendo responded.

"She is at least four to five weeks along, give or take a day," Ritsuko replied.

"How long until the embryo has developed to the point that it will begin interfering with her ability to synchronize with Unit Two?" Gendo asked.

"About another month or so. At least until the end of the first trimester. That... doesn't give us too much time, but considering the Angels have been appearing farther apart than what was predicted in the Dead Sea Scrolls... we may have the benefit of time on our hands," Ritsuko replied.

"Good," Gendo said simply. "I want Major Katsuragi informed of this development, if she has not been informed already," Gendo added. "She is, after all, in charge of the Pilot Corps," he said.

"Ikari, once Sohryu is no longer capable of piloting Unit Two, when will you have Nagisa sent here?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.

"I will call Third Branch after Unit Three's activation. I won't have him actually sent our way until Sohryu is no longer capable of piloting, however," Gendo replied. "So long as she is still capable of synchronizing with her Eva, she will remain on the roster in the event of an emergency," he added.

"What will the Committee think when they learn of this?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.

"So long as all of our Evangelions are usable, the Committee should not have any reason to become irate with us. After all, they were the ones who oversaw the regulations for the Pilot Corps. It is therefore  _their fault_  that we are in this situation," Gendo said, having read the regulations for the Pilot Corps himself. While he had known about the lack of any rules in regard to fraternization among the pilots, he had kept silent about it due his general lack of care regarding their well-being... at least until recently.

"I want security for Lieutenant Sohryu increased, as well as that of Airman Suzuhara. I don't want anything happening to Unit Three's pilot before its activation test," Gendo said. "That being said," he added, "I want another backup pilot selected from the available candidates. Don't recruit anyone until I say so, Ritsuko, but do begin the early phases of the process."

Ritsuko nodded her head in understanding. "I'll get started this afternoon. There are still a few simulations I need to run on the Dummy Plug using the MAGI, though," Ritsuko said.

"I thought you said it was almost ready for field testing?" Gendo said, glancing down at the report on his desk.

"Well, ' _almost_ ' is the key word here. There are still a few bugs that need to be worked out," Ritsuko replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Ever since Gendo's brief crisis of self worth and purpose, the man had become a bit more relaxed around those close to him, although he still presented a professional (and somewhat creepy) front to everyone else.

"Very well. I will leave you to your duties for the remainder of the day. Fuyutsuki, I believe we should speak with Chairman Kiel about Airman Nagisa in the meantime," Gendo said as he dismissed Ritsuko. The faux-blonde nodded her head and stood up from her chair before walking away and exiting the room, leaving the two men alone as they prepared for a holographic conference with the head of SEELE.

* * *

**The Suzuhara Household, Saturday Afternoon, January 02, 2044**

"Are you sure?" Toji asked Asuka as they sat together on Toji's bed in his room. Asuka glanced over her shoulder Toji and nodded her head. Both young adults were fully clothed, having simply opted to spend the afternoon just holding each other and talking.

"Yeah. I'm sure," Asuka said quietly, before running a hand down her still-flat stomach. In only a few months' time, she would begin to swell up down there, she realized. Leaning back, Asuka tilted her head to kiss Toji, who eagerly reciprocated, until they heard a knock on the door.

"Ugh! Who is it?" Toji asked in annoyance.

A deep and unfamiliar, yet oddly feminine, voice answered back. " _ **I am the neighborhood bed inspector! I have come to inspect your bed!**_ "

Toji and Asuka looked at each other in confusion. "Just open the door, Sakura!" Toji barked out in annoyance, only to widen his eyes as the door slid open to reveal... Mana Kirishima.

"M-Mana!? What the hell are  _you_  doin' here!?" Toji asked in surprise.

"Yeah!" Asuka chimed in.

"I bumped into Sakura after school, and when she learned that I was an Eva pilot, she literally dragged me back here. I have to say... she does  _not_  take 'no' for an answer," Mana said as she rolled her eyes.

"Shouldn't Section Two have still kept you out of the house?" Asuka asked with a groan of annoyance.

"Section Two? Please, those guys are amateurs," Mana said dismissively. "So... can I sneak out your bedroom window?" Mana asked Toji.

"Uh... why?" Toji asked her.

"Your sister is... she's kind of like Ken in her enthusiasm for us pilots, but without the  _restraint_ ," Mana replied, glancing behind herself to check the hallway for signs of the younger Suzuhara sibling. Sakura had just turned 14 in October, but she still acted like someone much younger when she was excited.

"Well... I was actually hopin' to tell her somethin' important today," Toji said as he glanced at Asuka, looking at her expectantly. Asuka nodded her head in approval.

"Oh, like what? That since you're a legal adult, you're allowed to drink beer in front of her while she can't?" Mana asked him teasingly.

"Uh...  _no_ ," Toji said.

"Of course not. You guys are no fun. I swear, if I were still allowed to drive, I'd be out on the streets right now just tearing away in whatever I can find," Mana said, complaining about the fact that Japan's laws made it illegal for anyone to drive until they'd graduated from high school.

"I don't get it. We're the pilots of the most advanced weapons of mass destruction ever seen, and yet we still aren't allowed to drive motor vehicles? What the hell, man? I mean, I've got a license!" Mana whined as she leaned against the door frame.

"Hey, that's the law of the land. Don't like it? Well, tough shit for you," Asuka said.

"Uh-huh. Look... about that window?" Mana asked as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs nearby.

"Not happenin'," Toji said with a grin. Mana sighed in frustration as she saw Sakura appear in the hallway. The little brown-haired devil quickly made her way over to Mana before stepping into Toji's room.

"Hey, Toji! Can Mana stay for dinner!?" Sakura asked. Behind Sakura, Mana shook her head with wide eyes and crossed her arms in the air to signal 'no' to him.

"Sure," Toji said with a smirk, "I'm sure'd  _love_  to stay for dinner with us."

Mana glared at Toji with narrowed eyes and a frown, quickly hiding it with a fake smile as soon as Sakura turned around to look at her. "Hear that!? You can stay for dinner!" Sakura exclaimed joyously. Mana nervously nodded her head and smiled for the girl.

 _Suzuhara-san, you're dead_ , Mana thought to herself.  _I had a date with some security cameras and audio recorders in NERV HQ tonight, dammit!_   _Now I have to put that on hold_ , Mana thought bitterly to herself. Following her therapy sessions in the past two months, Mana had slowly begun returning to her old habit of spying on various higher-ups at NERV. While Barnes was still dead, there  _were_  some contacts in the JSSDF that he had informed her of prior to his demise, and Mana had been slowly gathering intelligence on Commander Ikari and other high-ranking NERV personnel to give to the JSSDF in the future, as per Barnes's instructions.

"Uh, but before we have dinner, there's somethin' me and Red here need to talk to you about, Sakura. You can stay for this too, Kirishima," Toji said. Mana raised an eyebrow before nodding her head at the duo.

"Sakura... you're gonna be an aunt," Asuka said to the girl. Sakura and Mana both blinked at Asuka in confusion, until realization finally set in. Asuka rubbed her hand over her stomach to enforce the point.

"Holy shit!" Sakura swore in realization, causing everyone to gasp at her.

"Huh... and I thought  _you_  had a dirty mouth," Mana said to Toji, recalling all of the times she'd heard him cursing and swearing at his plug suit in the locker room prior to various sync tests. "Then again... I'm not really any better," she admitted. "So, how far along are ya?" Mana then asked Asuka.

"I'm about five weeks along now," Asuka replied. Mana nodded her head in understanding.

"Still in the first trimester. So, are you gonna keep it?" Mana asked her.

"We wouldn't be telling Sakura if we hadn't agreed to do that," Asuka replied.

Mana smacked herself in the forehead. "Right," she said, before an idea popped into her head. "Well... if you ever change your mind, I've got a pamphlet you can read," Mana said mischievously.  _This should get me out of being forced to stay here for dinner_ , Mana thought to herself.

"A pamphlet?" Asuka asked her. "What's it called?"

Mana grinned. " _A Modest Proposal_ ," she replied.

"Uh-huh," Asuka said. The title sounded vaguely familiar to her. "And, um, what's it about?" she asked Mana, who grinned in response.

"Oh... eating babies," Mana said, grinning.  _This will get me kicked out of here for sure!_

* * *

**Deep Inside NERV HQ...**

Ryoji Kaji held the small ear bud up to his ear as he eavesdropped on Gendo and Fuyutsuki's meeting with SEELE. He was currently situated in a server room, gathering information to give to the U.N. and Interpol, along with stuff he could hand over to the JSSDF.  _Two meetings in two days. What's going on here?_

* * *

**Back At The Suzuhara Household...**

"Just think about it!" Mana said with a grin. Sakura was busy covering her mouth with a hand as she tried to stifle her laughter, while Toji was caught between the desire to  _laugh_  at Mana's words and the conflicting desire to  _balk_  at Mana's words in order to comfort Asuka.

"You're sick!" Asuka cried out in disgust at Mana. A younger Asuka would have probably laughed at Mana's words as well, but now... well, things had changed quite a lot for Asuka in recent years.

"Come on, think about it!  _Real_ baby back ribs!  _Dripping_  with  _ **sauce!**_ " Mana continued. "Meat  _falling_  off the  _bone!_ " Mana finished, her eyes as wide as her grin, quickly running her tongue over her lips to add effect to her words.

"You're a sick, twisted  _degenerate!_ " Asuka spat at Mana. Mana simply licked her lips again in response. "Get out!" Asuka barked at Mana angrily. "I don't want you near me  _or_ my baby!" Asuka spat at Mana, covering her stomach with both hands protectively.

"Hey, I was just kiddin'!" Mana replied as she started backing up. "Sorry, Sakura. But I think it might be better if I don't stay for dinner. Some other time then?" Mana asked the girl. She didn't really dislike Sakura, but she'd been planning her most recent spying effort nearly a week in advance. She had no desire to see all of that work go to waste.

"Oh... alright," Sakura said with a frown and slumped shoulders.

Mana put a hand on one shoulder. "Hey, some other time, okay? It's just... I think I went too far with that joke just now," Mana said to Sakura before she removed her hand. "Anyway, I'll... uh, see you around kid. Oh, and remember: baby back ribs!" Mana said with a wink, causing Sakura to burst out laughing, much to Toji's chagrin.

"Heh... I love that show," Mana muttered to herself as she quickly made her way down the hallway before turning to go down the stairs. She quickly grabbed her shoes and slipped them on before exiting the front door and jogging down the sidewalk towards the street-level entrance building for NERV HQ, which had replaced the door she'd broken earlier in the year with a newer metal covered door. The golf club was still somewhere in her apartment.

Meanwhile, back in Toji's bedroom, Sakura was busy hugging Asuka. "Am I  _really_  going to be an aunt!?" Sakura asked Asuka with a smile. Asuka smiled down at the 14 year-old.

"Yeah... you are," Asuka said softly with a smile.

"What you gonna name it?" Sakura asked.

"Uh... well, we haven't decided on that yet," Asuka said as she shared a glance with Toji. "I guess... we'll have to start coming up with a list," she added.

"Hey, Asuka? When you have the baby, are you gonna marry my brother?" Sakura asked her.

Asuka and Toji both looked at each other with wide eyed expressions. The thought had never even occurred to them. Toji's expression soon became thoughtful, however.

_If she weren't havin' my baby... would I want to marry her?_

Toji thought long and hard about this, while Asuka did the same. With a sigh, Toji looked at Asuka again.  _Well... I love her. And... she's great in bed. And she makes me smile. And she drives me up a wall sometimes. And she gets along with my sister and my dad. So... if she weren't pregnant, would I want to marry her? Yeah. I think I would_ , Toji realized with a smile.

"Well... if Red here doesn't get tired of yellin' at me all the time, maybe I'll ask her," Toji said to Sakura, causing Asuka's eyes to widen with a gasp. A blush soon covered her face as a small smile formed on her lips.

"Be careful, Stooge. If you ask... I might say yes," Asuka said softly. Sakura beamed with excitement.

"Woo-hoo! I get a new sister and a... wait, is the baby a boy or a girl?" Sakura asked.

"It's not far enough along yet to be either one," Asuka explained.

"Oh... right, I forgot that the, uh... yeah, I just kind of forgot that. Well... I'm gonna call Dad and tell him!" Sakura exclaimed as she ran out of the room and into her own bedroom to grab her cell phone.

Toji chuckled before giving Asuka a kiss on the cheek. "You sure you wanna say yes? I mean, you'll have to put up with  _dat_ ," Toji joked. Asuka turned her head and looked at him with a smile.

"I think it's worth it," she said before tilting her head to kiss Toji on the lips. Soon, it became a full lip-lock session, as the couple slowly began to undress, forgetting that the door was still open. Sakura quietly closed it when she came back and saw them, walking away from Toji's room to go downstairs and turn on the TV.

* * *

**ENDING THEME: _If You Asked Me To_ , by Patti Labelle _._**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Toji is assigned to pilot Unit 03 and it's not a moment too soon, for the Thirteenth Angel has arrived!

* * *

Author's Notes: So... sappy. So fucking sappy! Oh well... I enjoyed writing it. So, um... yeah, Asuka's pregnant with Toji's kid. Shinji and Rei are now officially together, and Mana is slowly picking up the pieces of her shattered life as she starts spying on Gendo for the JSSDF... which will have consequences that she can't possibly imagine down the road.

*Asuka's German line is "What did I eat?"

The Urameshi Bar & Grill is a reference to Yusuke Urameshi... from  _Yu-Yu-Hakusho._

Also, Mana's line about being a bed inspector is a reference to  _Invader Zim_ , particularly the episode  _Plague of Babies_ , where Zim claims to be the neighborhood baby inspector.

So, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter... because it's the last chapter where everyone's hearts aren't broken into pieces. Starting with the next episode... we start entering the final stages of the Angel War. Remember, things are always darkest before the dawn... this story is about to get quite dark.

Also, Mana's joke about  _A Modest Proposal_  was lifted straight from  _Sealab 2021_ , one of my favorite Adult Swim programs.

So, as always, please be sure to let me know what you think of the episode and/or story so far in your reviews! They're always welcome, no matter how critical they are!


	17. Bardiel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the 13th Angel finally makes its presence known, the Evangelion Pilot Corps find themselves fighting an enemy more devious and sadistic than any Angel they've previously encountered.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

**WARNING** : This episode contains some lime content, graphic depictions of violence, and nightmare fuel. It is very much  _ **NOT SAFE FOR WORK**_.

In this particular episode, Bardiel makes its appearance, and I must warn everyone now that the Angel will display a somewhat... different behavior from how it was portrayed in NGE and Rebuild. I also changed the colors of the Eva from black and white to black and yellow, because I think it makes it a bit more intimidating to think about. Please note that all Evas basically resemble their Rebuild counterparts, except Unit 05 which is an olive green version of Unit 02, and Unit 04, which is a silver and red version on Unit 01 but with a horned crest that faces back instead of a horn that jutts forward.

Also, I tried to make sure that the geography for the locations of the Eva battles is as accurate to real life as possible, but... so little information about the geographic locations if available for the spots where Unit 03 fought the other Evas in episode 18 or NGE, or where Unit 01 fought Unit 03 in Rebuild 2.0, so... yeah, there may indeed be some severe inaccuracies in this episode regarding certain parts of Japan's geography.

Also, please note that this is going to be a rather long episode. You may wish to get some snacks while reading it.

Music I listened to while writing this includes  _Neon Genesis Evangelion OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu & Masamichi Amano & Yoichi Murata,  _Shiro SAGISU Music From Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone_  (2007) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Blue Gender OST 1 - 3_  (1999 - 2000) by Kuniaki Haishima,  _ALIEN 3 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack_  (1992) by Elliot Goldenthal, and  _The End Of Evangelion_  (1997) by Shiro Sagisu, and  _Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within_  (2001) by Elliot Goldenthal.

As you can tell, the inclusion of music from  _ALIEN 3_  (1992) and  _The End Of Evangelion_  (1997) means that this particular episode is going to be dark. We have entered the tunnel now, and the light at the end is a very far distance away from us... if there is a light at all. Going forward from this episode onward, a lot of the music I choose to listen to and recommend will come from very dark pieces of work, and I will provide a more in depth explanation for why I chose certain tracks in the author's notes section at the end of the chapter/episode.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites. For this episode, however, listening to the music in the final selection order is highly  _recommended_.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _Ristuko_ ,  _Harbinger Of Tragedy_ ,  _When I Find Peace Of Mind_ ,  _Infantile Dependence, Adult Dependency_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _F02 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

Music From  _Evangelion 1.0_  (2007):  _Les Betes_.

Music From  _Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within_  (2001):  _A Child Recalled_ ,  _Entrada_.

Music From  _ALIEN 3_  (1992):  _Death Dance_ ,  _The Dragon,_ _Wreckage and Rape_.

Music From  _Blue Gender OST 1 - 3_  (1999 - 2000):  _Mamoritai_ ,  _Preset_ ,  _Bluff_.

Music From  _The End Of Evangelion_  (1997):  _Manatsu No Shuen_ / _The End of Midsummer_ ,  _Taikō he no Kinkyūhinan_ / _Emergency Evacuation To Regression_ ,  _Yume No Sukima_ / _Opening Of A Dream_.

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _When I Find Peace Of Mind_  (Pilots having lunch),  **02**.  _Mamoritai_  (The night before the test),  **03**.  _A Child Recalled_  (Asuka tells Toji about her mother),  **04**.  _Ritsuko_  (Toji rides to Matsushiro/Misato and Ritsuko talk),  **05**.  _The Dragon_  (Toji in the entry plug/Strange readings),  **06**.  _Entrada_  (The 13th Angel revealed),  **07**.  _Manatsu No Shuen_ / _The End of Midsummer_  (Bardiel's rampage),  **08**.  _Taikō he no Kinkyūhinan_ / _Emergency Evacuation To Regression_  (Unit 03 reclassified as 13th Angel),  **09**.  _Preset_  (Bardiel In Ueda),  **10**.  _Les Betes_  (Three Evas against one Angel),  **11**.  _Bluff_  (Mana's desperate fight),  **12**.  _Harbinger Of Tragedy_  (Bardiel versus Eva 01),  **13**.  _Death Dance_  (Bardiel versus Eva 02/Asuka's struggle),  **14**.  _Infantile Dependence, Adult Dependency_  (Dummy Plug attacks/Horrific victory).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**15**.  _F02 -_ _Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 17: Bardiel**

* * *

**NERV 1st Branch, Massachusetts, United States, Friday Morning, January 08, 2044**

The air strip was busy with activity as technicians and vehicles moved about from one end to another. Today was the day that Evangelion Production Model Unit 03 was finally being sent over to Japan, after months of exhaustive testing and development. There was one final step to take before the Evangelion could be officially declared complete, but following the disaster that had befallen Second Branch, none of the personnel at First Branch were eager to bring Unit 03 online at their base. Instead, the Eva would be flown to Japan where its core awaited it, which would then be inserted prior to the designated pilot synchronizing with the Eva for the first time. At least, that was the plan.

As the hour drew near, the air strip was completed evacuated until only a large specialized aircraft and the Evangelion remained. The Eva remained motionless and silent as its black and yellow armor glistened in the light of the rising sun. When the signal was finally given, the engines of the craft roared to life as it slowly began moving forward to pick up speed, slowly lifting itself into the air.

Unit 03 was slowly lifted into the air by the specialized transport aircraft, suspended along with a large crucifix-shaped board that its limbs were strapped to in order to keep it from moving as it passed through the air. As the plane lifted itself higher into the air, so moved the Eva along with it, climbing higher and higher until the armored feet were at least a mile above the ground. Wind blew across the black and yellow highlighted armor as birds flew around it.

The grand blue skies were clear and beautiful as the transport plane carried Unit 03 through the air, passing by various clouds and formations of birds as it slowly traversed the airspace over North America. Wind conditions were perfect, and the flight crew had been properly rested the previous night. It was smooth sailing.

Over the course of the day, the transport made its way to Japan without any trouble, passing once through a dark and unusual cloud as it crossed the ocean. The cloud had no effect on the plane as it lifted itself above it, while Unit 03 was still low enough to be engulfed. When the Eva passed through the other end of the almost imperceptibly shrinking cloud, it looked no different than it had before, while the cloud behind it slowly evaporated into nothingness.

Little did anyone know, however, that the dark cloud the Eva passed through had been more than just a cloud...

* * *

**Tokyo-3 High School, Monday, January 11, 2044**

"Man, how do you always get so lucky?" Kensuke asked Toji. Currently, they were sitting outside during their lunch break, with Hikari, Mayumi, and the other pilots having joined them as they sat near a large tree, enjoying the shade it provided. In response to Kensuke's question, Toji simply rolled his eyes as he swallowed his food.

"Tell ya what, Ken-man. The next time we have to fight an Angel, one of us will let you try pilotin' our Eva, and then you can find out just how cool it really is. I'm gettin' tired of hearin' ya whine about how 'lucky' the rest of us are, when you've never felt phantom injuries from fightin' an Angel," Toji said with a glare.

"Yeah, but... you gotta admit that it's an experience unlike any other," Kensuke said between bites of food.

"Technically, being bit by a rattlesnake could also qualify as 'an experience unlike any other'," Mana chimed in. Kensuke frowned slightly at Mana's words.

"Piloting a giant cyborg isn't the same thing as being bitten by a snake," Kensuke retorted.

"See? They're both experiences unlike any other," Mana replied with a grin. "Besides, how can you call Toji lucky? He's become a father before graduating high school. That ain't lucky," Mana added, causing Toji and Asuka to both glare at her.

"Oh... yeah, I guess so," Kensuke said in agreement, prompting the duo to glare at him as well.

This time Mari chimed in. "And anyway, Kenny, you're forgetting something very important here," Mari said with a grin.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Kensuke asked her.

"He-he. Well, I doubt that Toji has ever had a threesome with two beautiful girls at the same time, while  _you have_ ," Mari replied boastfully, prompting Shinji, Toji, and even Hikari to all begin choking on their food. Rei, Asuka, and Mayumi patted them on their backs to help them unclogg the food.

"Mari, that's kind of a private thing," Mana said, chiding the bespectacled girl. "And besides, it was a one time thing," she added before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Well, it could always happen again if anyone's up for it," Mari said with a smile, causing Kensuke's eyes to widen, while Mana blushed slightly.

"Look, Mari... I'll admit that what we did was fun, and it felt great too, but I prefer guys," Mana said.

Mari shrugged her shoulders in response. "Hey, suit yourself," Mari said before she resumed eating her food. "Oh, Kensuke? Are you free this coming Saturday or Sunday?" Mari asked him with a glint in her eyes.

"Uh... y-yeah. I don't have anything planned," Kensuke replied, noticing the glint.

"Cool," Mari said. "Meet me at the arcade after school on Saturday. When we're done there, we can head over to my apartment or to your place. Whichever you prefer is fine," Mari said, not caring that everyone else was still sitting right there around them.

"I'll be there," Kensuke said eagerly, the promise of sex causing him to respond almost automatically to Mari's request.

"Uh, wait a minute, isn't Unit Three supposed to have its activation test on Sunday?" Mana asked.

"Uh, yeah... but Toji's gonna be the pilot. The rest of us will have the day off," Mari said.

"No... not me. I'm gonna be testing out some of the new weapons that were flown over with the Eva," Mana retorted. "I'm actually looking forward to it. From what I've read, the Strike Rifle seems promising," she added, remembering the specifications that she'd read about the new weapons, courtesy of Misato Katsuragi handing her a print out of a report that had been e-mailed to her from Massachusetts.

"You're getting a new rifle for the Evas?" Kensuke asked between bites of food.

Mana nodded her head. "Mm-hm. I'll tell you more later. I'd like to finish my lunch first," Mana said before started digging into her sandwich. In recent months, she had found herself talking to Kensuke more often than with the other pilots, although it was quite clear that the boy was smitten with Mari, as Mana had learned early on during her stay in Japan. The boy could never work up the courage to ask the half-British girl out, but he always said yes whenever she offered to do anything together with him.

Sadly, Mana knew that Mari did not feel the same way about Kensuke. Oh, she liked to tease him and even have casual sex with him from time to time, but that was just it. Mari kept things casual with the boy. Having read the Mari's file, as well as gaining access to the German Branch's server thanks to Kaji's help, Mana had found the files concerning one Kaworu Nagisa, and had immediately figured out why Mari never got too close to Kensuke.

Mari may have liked Kensuke as a friend and occasional fuck buddy, but if the various reports for her and Nagisa were to be believed, then Mari's heart already belonged to a boy living in Germany. Shame, really, that Kensuke had the hots for a girl who didn't feel the same way.  _I wouldn't mind having Ken for a boyfriend... if I could just get him to stop gushing over military hardware all the time. He's a nice guy, but he has... odd priorities sometimes_ , Mana thought to herself as she finished eating her lunch.

After wiping her mouth with a napkin she'd brought along, Mana looked over at Toji and Asuka, who were both taking turns feeding each other like a couple from a sappy romance manga. "Yo, Suzuhara-san? When you sync with Unit Three, see if you can have that thing brought over to HQ later. Maybe I'll let you try out the Strike Rifle before the others," Mana offered to her co-worker.

Toji nodded his head in affirmation. "I'll see if they let me take the thing anywhere. I don't think I'm gonna be doin' much more than just synchronizin' with it durin' the test," Toji said in response, before Asuka forced another piece of food into his mouth.

"Hey, I think you need the food more than I do," Toji said after swallowing. Asuka blushed in response before taking a bite out of her own food. Toji then glanced over at Mana again.

"Uh, hey, Mana? Thanks again for dealing with... those other girls," Toji said, referring to a group of girls who had found out about Asuka's pregnancy and had started spreading rumors about her sleeping with every boy in the school. Mana had quickly quashed those rumors before finding the girls and... setting them straight, in a way that only she was capable of doing.

"You're welcome. By the way, if I see you at NERV at all on Sunday, don't forget to call me Sergeant from now on, or Sarge. Yeah, call me Sarge," Mana said with a grin, remembering how Misato had promoted her only a few days earlier.

"Sarge?" Toji asked her.

"Wait... you got promoted!? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Kensuke asked. Shinji simply rolled his eyes before glancing over at Rei, who silently shook her head. "I mean, this calls for a celebration!" Kensuke exclaimed.

"Yeah, but... tell you what, if I finish testing the new weapons early on Sunday, I  _might_  consider joining you and Mari over in  _my_  apartment," Mana said.  _Maybe snagging a boyfriend won't be so bad... but then again, I might be putting him in danger. Considering that I've taken up spying on the Commander and his secret council buddies again, if I get caught, Kensuke might get abducted by someone to find out what he knows... but I've already offered to have another three-way with him and Mari, so... I'll just have to keep things from going too far_ , Mana thought to herself.

"R-Really?" Kensuke asked her, failing at hiding his excitement. Then again, he was the only male in the group who hadn't been claimed by anyone yet.

"Sure, but only as a celebration... event. Actually... I  _guess_  I could meet up with you and Mari after school on Saturday," Mana said, realizing that she didn't have any plans for Saturday. She had already finished her secret report for her JSSDF contacts regarding everything she had discovered in December, and she wouldn't need to submit another report until at least the middle of February. Besides, her contacts were already being given reports by Kaji, much of which covered the same information.

Mana sometimes wondered if Kaji knew that she was aware of his role as a spy working for multiple employers. She also wondered if her was aware of the fact that  _she_  was a spy as well. Chances were pretty high that he already knew, but if so, he'd made no effort to let her know that he knew about her.

The rest of the lunch period passed without incident, and the six pilots, plus their three civilian friends, made their way back inside the school before the bell rang after they finished eating.

* * *

**The Suzuhara Household, Saturday Afternoon, January 16, 2044**

Inside Toji's bedroom, Toji and Asuka were busy having a pre-test celebration. Moaning in appreciation as Toji ran his hands over her naked body, Asuka grabbed Toji's hands and placed them above her still-flat stomach. "Enjoy it now, Toji. In a few months, that's gonna be large and off-limits," Asuka said, briefly imagining herself with a swollen abdomen. She dismissed the thought as Toji leaned down and kissed her flesh, causing her to shudder, before lightly blowing on her skin to make her gasp.

Toji then retreated and dipped his head lower, causing Asuka to grab the bed sheets with white-knuckled fists as she let out a cry of bliss. Glancing down, Asuka watched as Toji assault her with his mouth. Her head fell back against a pillow as she let out a moan of pleasure, followed by another, along with several gasps of delight, as Toji slowly brought her to her first orgasm of her night.

"I... I love you. I love you," Asuka gasped as her mind briefly blanked out. When she returned to the world of the living, she saw Toji grinning up at her, his lips and cheeks soaked. The sight was... oddly erotic to Asuka. "Damn... I know how to pick 'em," she said with a smile.

Toji nodded his head with a smirk, before he leaned forward and made a raspberry with her belly button, prompting Asuka to giggle and push him off of her. "Ah! S-Stop that! You jerk!" she laughed at him before she tackled him and pressed his equally naked body back against the bed. "You're gonna pay for that," she said with a smile, before she leaned in and kissed him.

As their tongues danced, Asuka reached a hand down between them. Toji groaned into the kiss when Asuka found what she wanted, and she slowly slid herself back. Toji looked down at Asuka before she forced him to screw his eyes shut with a gasp.

As Asuka used her mouth on her boyfriend, a devious thought formed in her head. When she sensed that Toji was close to his limit, she stopped her actions and lifted her head up, smirking at him evilly. "W-What the?" Toji asked in disappointment.

"I told you that you'd pay for that," Asuka said with a snicker.

Toji groaned and rolled his eyes in response. "Hell hath no fury like a pissed girlfriend," he said to himself.

"Just girlfriend? Toji... I'm having your baby. Maybe a different word is more appropriate. How about... fiancee?" Asuka asked with a blush. "I mean... I think we already agreed anyway, so... say it," Asuka said with a smile.

"You ain't gonna let me finish if I don't, will ya?" Toji asked her knowingly. Asuka simply smirked deviously at him in response. "Fine. Hell hath no fury like a beautiful fiancee scorned," Toji said.

"Good boy," Asuka remarked, before she leaned over Toji's lower region and began using her hands to finish him.

"W-What about yer mouth?" Toji asked her.

"I'm not that fond of the taste, Toji. Besides... I hear this makes skin look better," Asuka replied mischievously, until she finally got what she wanted. Toji let out a strangled gasp as Asuka's breasts received their new lotion from an unorthodox pump. Asuka's eyes lit up in delight as she watched the brief show.

Reaching down between her legs, Asuka felt she had become plenty lubricated. "Ready for the main course?" Asuka asked Toji as slid herself up and hovered over him. Toji eagerly nodded his head in response, prompting Asuka to mount him.

Asuka set the tone as slow and gentle to start out, keeping it that way for a few minutes, before that growing itch inside of her demanded more vigorous attention. Slowly, Asuka picked up the pace, watching as Toji threw his head back while she had her way with him. "That's it. Enjoy this, Honey. In a few months, we may not be able to do it like this until after the little munchkin in born," Asuka said, gasping as Toji began putting forth his own effort.

Soon, the room was filled with gasps and moans as flesh impacted flesh. Eventually, the gasps and moans went from being passionate to being desperate as the pace of the couple's love-making reached a fiery crescendo. Asuka's body moved as though it were possessed, and Toji could only hold on for dear life as he felt his end approaching. Finally, as the sweat dripped off of Asuka onto Toji and the bed, she convulsed and let out a gasp as she found completion.

She quickly fell on top of Toji, her body still riding out the aftershocks as he reached his own end as well, letting everything out. "F-Fuck!" Toji gasped, before Asuka moved herself to cover his mouth with her own. As the duo rode out the last few waves of pleasure, their breathing returned to normal, and Toji shifted both of them so that he could grab the bed sheet and throw it over them.

Cuddled up under the covers, both Toji and Asuka held each other close. Resting her head on Toji's chest, Asuka simply allowed herself to feel and listen to the beating of his heart. It was a soft rhythmic lullaby for her.

"Hey... Toji?" Asuka asked her fiance.

"Yeah?" Toji asked in response.

"If the baby's a boy... I was thinking we should name him Isamu," Asuka said.

"Hm... Isamu. I kinda' like the name. Isamu. Isamu. All right, but... what if the baby's a girl?" Toji asked her.

"I don't know," Asuka replied softly. "Toji... can I tell you something?" Asuka asked him, tilting her head to look up into his eyes.

"Anything, babe," Toji replied with a smile.

"Toji... I'm scared," Asuka admitted. "I'm scared of being a mother. I... I don't know if I'll be able to handle it. W-When I was five years old, my mother went insane after some accident in the lab where she worked. For almost two years, she got worse, going from slightly abnormal to completely deranged. She started... she..."

Asuka felt tears threatening to pour from her eyes. "She started calling this doll Asuka. She replaced me with a doll. Whenever I tried to go near her, she would yell at me, and on one occasion, she tried to strangle me because I got too close to her. I... I couldn't understand why my mother no longer acted like my mother. It was like she'd been replaced by a body snatcher," Asuka relayed sadly.

"And then, one day... she asked me to die with her. I agreed to it. I... I didn't know what suicide was back then. All I knew was that my mamma had finally asked me to do something with her, and I agreed. I'd have agreed to anything she asked of me if it meant getting to be with her again. And so... a week later, on the day that I was confirmed as an Eva pilot, I came home to tell my mom," Asuka said.

Toji listened and placed an arm over Asuka's shoulder, hugging her close to him as she continued her story. "When I got to her room to tell her the news, she... sh-she... she'd committed suicide. She'd hanged herself and that doll from the ceiling fan. She... she took the doll thinking that it was me," Asuka said with a shudder as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

Toji felt Asuka shudder and hugged her close. "Hey, it's okay. That's in the past," Toji said reassuringly as he planted small kisses on Asuka's cheeks and her forehead. "You'll be a great mom, Asuka. I'm sure ya will," Toji said.

"I promise, I'm not gonna leave ya like dat," Toji said. "And you ain't gonna leave our kid like dat either. What happened to yer mother ain't gonna happen to you, Red. I love you, and I'll make sure nothin' like dat ever happens to ya again. I promise," Toji said as he kissed Asuka passionately before pulling away to look her in the eyes.

Asuka simply nodded her head halfheartedly. Seeing that she still needed cheering up, Toji decided to get more... hands on. By the time he was done worshiping Asuka's body, he'd ended up bringing her and himself to completion twice more, before they both fell asleep from exhaustion.

* * *

**Misato's Car, En Route to NERV Testing Facility, Matsushiro, Sunday, January 17, 2044**

Toji looked out the window of Misato's car as she drove him to the Matsushiro testing facility, the ride being rather quiet as it was a back road they were using. The sight of the mountain forests around them was rather beautiful, and Toji wished that he'd brought a camera so that he could take pictures of the natural beauty around the car.

"Ya know... before Asuka starts swellin' up, maybe I ought ta bring her out here and go hikin' with her. I think she'd like the mountains," Toji said to Misato as he turned to look at her. Misato glanced at him briefly before nodding her head.

"Well... we'll have to see. Asuka may not be required to pilot anymore, but  _you_  still are," Misato said. "But don't worry. I'm sure that once all of the Angels are gone, you guys will be able to come out here and hike all you want," Misato said. "After all... the mountains  _are_  rather beautiful, aren't they?" she asked as she glanced around the mountain range before returning her focus to the road ahead of her.

"Yeah, they are," Toji replied. "Uh, hey, Misato? Is it... will it be a problem if I... if I... if I marry Asuka while we're still in the Pilot Corps?" Toji asked, causing Misato's eyes to widen.

"You wanna marry her?" Misato asked him.

"Well, yeah. I mean, she's carryin' my kid. And even if she weren't... I'd probably still wanna marry her in the future anyway," Toji said.

Misato smiled softly at Toji before returning her focus to the road. "Well... that's certainly dedication," she said with a smirk. "Just be sure to let her know that," Misato added.

"Oh, she knows I wanna marry her. She's already agreed to it too," Toji said.

"She has? Huh. Well... have you guys, uh, picked a date for it or anything?" Misato asked.

"Uh... no, we haven't," Toji said with a shrug. "I was kinda hopin'... maybe you'd have some advice on when we should... uh, you know... do it?" Toji asked.

"Well, I think you've already ' _done it'_  so to speak," Misato said with a snicker, causing Toji to roll his eyes in response. "But... I guess that's up to you guys," Misato added. "There was once a time, before Second Impact, when the seasons changed throughout the year. Winter, Summer, Spring, and Autumn all had their own unique feel. Now... with the planet's axis being shifted by Second Impact, the Earth just has a near perpetual Summer, unless you live near one of the polar regions, but even those seasonal changes are so brief that they almost don't even seem like they're happening," Misato exposited.

"Yeah, I've seen pictures and movies about life before Second Impact. Do ya think... do ya think the seasons will ever come back?" Toji asked Misato.

"I honestly don't know," Misato replied.

The rest of the drive to the Matsushiro testing facility was relatively silent, with Toji occasionally cracking the windows to hear the birds chirping. It was a rather peaceful ride, and seeing the beauty of nature had a calming effect on both Misato and Toji. It helped put his mind at ease.

* * *

**NERV Matsushiro Testing Facility, A Short Time Later...**

Looking up at the form of Unit 03, Ritsuko took a moment to admire the thing. Sure, she'd seen it plenty of times of the past week, but now it was about to be activated. Even if the activation test simply involved having the pilot synchronize with the Eva for about an hour, that would be plenty of new data to work with. And, with Asuka's condition making her unavailable to pilot safely in a short period of time, adding Unit 03 to the ranks would help balance things out.

As Ritsuko walked along the catwalk, she made her way over to a door. Before she could open it herself, the door slid open to reveal Misato and Toji. Toji was still wearing his black and yellow track suit. "Good, you're right on time," Ritsuko said to the duo.

"Suzuhara, why don't you go get changed in the locker room? The layout isn't too different from HQ. I think you'll be able to make it there on your own," Ritsuko said. Toji nodded his head before making his way onto the walkway and heading toward a set of stairs that ran alongside the main wall of the holding cage.

Once Toji had disappeared into a doorway, Misato let out a sigh. "I need a drink," Misato said as she leaned against a safety rail.

"Oh, you decided to come to work sober today?" Ritsuko asked her.

"Very funny, Rits," Misato snarked. "Hey, Rits... when the activation test is over, do you wanna... just, I dunno, go get a drink or something?" Misato asked her, taking Makoto Hyuga's advice to try to repair her fracturing friendship with the faux-blonde.

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at Misato. "Oh, Hyuga's not available tonight?" Ritsuko asked her curiously.

"Rits... I miss you," Misato said with tired expression on her face. Ritsuko looked at Misato curiously. "When we were in college, we were inseperable. What happened to us?" Misato asked with a forlorn expression on her face.

"We... have been growing distant lately, haven't we?" Ritsuko asked her in return, letting out a sigh. "It would be nice, I suppose, to sit down and share a drink like old times. I guess... if things go smoothly, I'll consider your offer," she said as she leaned over a safety rail, looking up at Unit 03's still form. "Who pays for the drinks?" Ritsuko then asked her.

"We'll flip a coin," Misato replied with a grin.

"Hm. Sounds fair enough," Ritsuko replied with a smile. The two women then slowly began making their way around the walkway before reaching a staircase that would lead up to a corridor than would take them to the observation room.

* * *

**The Command Center, NERV HQ...**

Sitting down at his console, 2nd Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba nodded his head as he received instructions from Ritsuko. "Got it," he said as he accessed a networking menu and entered a password. "Okay, HQ MAGI and Matsushiro MAGI are now set to synchronize data from the test. Matsushiro MAGI also confirm the detection of the offsite storage location," Aoba said in a professional manner over his headset.

" _Good. We'll start transmitting data from Unit 03 over your way now. Remember, the Eva hasn't been activated yet, so most of the data you'll be getting won't have anything interesting for a few more minutes_ ," Ritsuko said over line.

"Affirmative. Receiving dataaaaa... now. Okay, we're set," Aoba replied into his headset. The vitals of the pilot in the entry plug began showing up on one monitor, while the input and output data from the Matsushiro site's monitoring equipment were shown on another display.

Satisfied with his rather easy assignment for the day, Shigeru leaned back in his chair and picked up his newest guitar magazine.

* * *

**Matsushiro Testing Facility...**

Inside the entry plug of Unit 03, Toji felt slightly... uneasy. He didn't know why he felt this way, but something about the interior of the entry plug just seemed... off. He couldn't put his finger on it. The pilot seat had a safety harness, just like Unit 04, and much of the interior greatly mirrored the entry plug of Unit 04. It should have felt safe and secure. And yet... something just didn't feel right.

" _Hey, Toji, you doing okay in there?_ " Misato asked over the com.

"Yeah. So, how come I can use the com system without turning on the Eva?" Toji asked her.

" _It uses a newer set of equipment than the other Evas. Granted, all of the Evas have a few external systems that can function without the Eva being fully powered or activated, like external cameras to take in the surroundings or a few emergency lights or even some flare systems for rescue workers to find a fallen Eva. They're basically redundant systems_ ," Misato explained over the com.

"Ah. Okay then," Toji said as he looked around at the dark screen of the plug. He almost felt as though he had entered the den of some ancient slumbering beast, hidden in the dark. He'd never felt this way inside any of the other entry plugs, not even the problematic Unit 00.

"So, uh, are you guys ready for me to synchronize with dis thing yet?" Toji asked over the com.

" _Ready when you are_ ," Ritsuko replied over the com.

Toji nodded his head and reached up to feel the A-10 connectors clipped in his hair. "Okay, here we go," he said as he leaned back. "I'm ready," he said over the com. " _Affirmative_ ," Ritsuko replied.

A few seconds later, the lights came on in the plug, and the electrolyzed LCL became totally transparent. The main screen came to life, showing the interior of the holding cage around the Eva. " _You're looking good, Toji!_ " Misato announced over the com.

"Hey, thanks. Ya know, when dis test is finally over... I'm think I'm gonna buy a ring for Asuka. Do ya think she'd like dat?" Toji asked Misato. " _I'm sure she'll like whatever you give her, Toji_ ," Misato replied over the com.

" _Hey, that's enough of that_ ," Ritsuko said over the com. " _Toji, you and Misato can talk about Asuka and your wedding plans later. Right now, I need you to focus. Currently, you have a sync rate that's below the borderline_ ," Ritsuko said.

"It is? Huh," Toji responded curiously. " _Yes. It's strange, because otherwise the Eva is responding as though you_ _ **aren't**_ _below the borderline. We're getting some very odd readings from the Eva_ ," Ritsuko said over the com.

Soon, that strange sense of wrongness began to return, as Toji felt another presence in the Eva with him. He turned in his seat, straining against the safety harness as he looked around. If there were another person in the entry plug, that would explain the strange readings that the Eva was producing, but Toji couldn't see anyone in there with him.

A sense of dread began to slowly build up inside of Toji, as he thought he heard a faint whisper in his ear. His eyes darted around the entry plug, scanning for signs of anything unusual. "The hell's goin' on?" he asked curiously. A cold tingling sensation began to creep up his spine as he looked around the interior of the entry plug.

Seconds later, the entry plug became pitch black.

* * *

"Toji!?" Misato asked as she saw the health readings for the pilot go offline. All systems monitoring the entry plug and the pilot had gone offline. "Rits, what's going on here?" Misato asked worriedly.

"I-I don't know," Ritsuko said in confusion as she flipped several switches to activate backup monitoring systems. "Nothing's responding," she said with concern in her voice. "I can't get anything from the entry plug!" she exclaimed worriedly. She quickly typed a series of commands into the console, only to see an error message appear on the screen.

"This shouldn't be happening," Ritsuko said worriedly. Meanwhile, outside in the holding cage, Unit 03's hands began to flex their digits, curling its giant fingers into fists before uncurling them. Ritsuko saw a spike on the monitor for the Eva's own vital signs. "We have movement," Ritsuko said.

"So, Toji's synced with it?" Misato asked her.

Ritsuko shook her head in the negative. "No. These brainwave readings are from the Eva itself. There's no detection of any feedback or input from the pilot. The Eva is moving on its own," Ritsuko said. Misato gasped in shock at Ritsuko's statement.

"You mean... like Unit One in the battle against the Third Angel?" Misato asked her.

"I... I don't know. Maybe," Ritsuko said before she looked up and saw the Evangelion narrowing its eyes at her and Misato, before it broke the guards on its mouth and licked its teeth with its tongue in front of everyone. Its lips, hidden by the helmet's mouth guards, curled into a cruel smile.

Slowly, Unit 03 began to struggle against the restraints of the gear holding it into place. "It's trying to break free!" Ritsuko exclaimed inside the observation room. " _ **Attention, all personnel! Unit Three is going berserk! Prepare Bakelite contingency and pilot removal in T-Minus thirty seconds!**_ " Ritsuko exclaimed over the intercom.

The Eva broke free of the restraints and lifted a hand into the air, curling it into a fist before extending its pointer finger. It aimed the finger straight at Ritsuko and Misato. Smiling sadistically, the Eva angled its fist before wagging the finger back and forth in admonishment, simultaneously shaking its head as well.

Ritsuko's eyes widened with a gasp as she realized what this meant: the creature in front of her understood what she had said over the intercom. It was  _intelligent_. "It... it can't be possible," Ritsuko muttered in disbelief, before the Eva broke its other limbs free of their restraints. It then lifted its head up and let out an ear-shattering roar, before a strange glow emanated from under its armor.

The Angel alarms began going off. "We have Blue Pattern detected!" Misato cried out, before she looked at a nearby monitor. "Oh my god! It's the Eva! The Eva is the Blue Pattern!" Misato cried out in horror as she turned to look at the giant black and yellow beast on the other side of the glass.

"The Thirteenth Angel!" Ritsuko exclaimed in horror. "It was inside the Eva!" she added, before she rushed over to a console. "I'm ejecting the entry plug!" Ritsuko exclaimed as she saw Misato's worried expression. An Error message soon appeared on the monitor. "Blockage!? What the hell does that... no," Ritsuko muttered as the Eva turned itself around to show the blue material stretched over the entry plug, holding it in place. The Angel then turned back around to face the observation window, before it slowly marched over to it.

" _Hey, Doctor Akagi? Major Katsuragi? What's going on over there!?_ " Aoba's voice asked over a discarded headset. " _Hello!? Is anyone there!? I've got no signals from the pilot or the entry plug! Did something happen!? Hello!?_ " Aoba continued calling out over the headset.

As Bardiel stepped forward, he raised his right arm and curled his hand into a fist again, before angling his torso as he stepped forward.

"Oh shit!" Misato cried out before she grabbed a stunned Ritsuko by the arm and dragged her towards the door, exiting the room into a corridor just as Unit 03's giant black armored fist broke through the glass, metal walls, and floor, smashing everything in the room. "Keep moving!" Misato exclaimed as alarms sounded throughout the facility. Tugging on Ritsuko's arm, Misato ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

Hearing the Eva let out a roar once again, Misato found herself back in Antarctica, with her father pulling her along as ADAM destroyed everything in sight.  _Of course, aside from Units One and Four, the Evas are cloned from Adam's remains. Of course they would all look like he did_ , Misato thought to herself as the corridor began to shake, causing her to lose her balance briefly.

Leaning against the wall for support, Misato looked around as the lights blinked on and off for several seconds. "We gotta get out of here!" Misato cried out as another roar sounded through the halls.

The facility shook again as Bardiel began tearing his way out, kicking his legs and swinging his arms, smashing everything in sight. Inside the hangar, Bardiel grabbed a catwalk and tore it away from a wall before walking over to a pipe that was beginning to pour out Bakelite. Grabbing the pipe with one hand, Bardiel applied pressure and began crushing the metal tube to stall the flow of the liquid.

Looking around, Bardiel slammed himself into the side of the wall. Technicians running on catwalks high above fell over the rails and screamed as they plummeted to the stone floor below. Crumpling the catwalk still in his one hand, Bardiel tossed the metal clump into the air, hitting another catwalk with force. The metal clump soon fell back down to the floor with a loud clanging thud.

Digging a hand into the wall, Bardiel began to create his own hand holds as he started climbing up to freedom. Bakelite began to fill up the bottom of the floor below him, and Bardiel let out a snarl as he grabbed a pipe and crunched it in his fist before resuming his climb upward. Soon, though, Bardiel saw the deployment box on the other side of the holding room. Grinning inside the helmet, Bardiel began moving sideways, digging his armored digits into the walls and crushing and hapless personnel who were moving or hiding behind said walls.

Meanwhile, Misato and Ritsuko had made their way to an emergency staircase. "Come on!" Misato barked at Ritsuko. Ritsuko panted before reaching down to take off her heels.

"Alright! I'm moving! I'm moving!" Ritsuko exclaimed as she caught up to Misato, just as another tremor shook the facility. A few seconds later, a loud crashing sound was heard nearby, before part of the wall began to tear away, revealing Bardiel as he shook the remnants of the wall off his hand.

"Jesus Christ!" Misato cried out as she witnessed the Angel's strength. Bardiel tilted his head towards her and narrowed his eyes. Raising his arm back, Bardiel shot his right hand forward and grabbed the staircase. Misato and Ritsuko screamed as they held on for dear life while the Angel pulled the staircase away from the wall.

Bringing the staircase section and the two humans clinging to it up to his face for inspection, Bardiel let out what sounded like a demented laugh before letting go of the stairs. Bardiel smiled as he watched the two humans fall along with the metal stairs down to the lower levels, frowning when the twisting metal steps became caught in something. The two humans dangled from the rails of the stairs, screaming with fright.

With a huff, Bardiel continued his escape, before raising a fist and slamming it into the wall. Pulling his fist out, he let debris rain down onto the stairs and the humans below, before he continued making his way over to the deployment shaft. Bardiel grinned as he got closer to freedom.

* * *

**The Command Center, NERV HQ...**

"Come in, Matsushiro. Please respond, over," Aoba requested again into his headset. "Dammit," he muttered in frustration after once again receiving only static. Just then, the door behind him slid open and 2nd Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga walked in, accompanied by 1st Lieutenant Maya Ibuki.

"Hey, Aoba, what's up?" Hyuga asked his co-worker as he walked over to his station.

"I've lost contact with Matsushiro," Aoba replied. "One minute, everything was fine. The next minute... I lost everything. I've got no response from anybody. I mean, it's like-" Aoba was cut off when the alarms sounded.

"Blue Pattern detected! Wait, it's Orange! No, it's Blue again! It keeps shifting between Blue and Orange!" Maya exclaimed as she rushed over to her post and looked at the readings on the monitors. "Aoba, try contacting Matsushiro again! We might need them to send Unit Three our way!" Maya barked.

Soon, the door to the platform above them opened, and Gendo and Fuyutsuki walked out onto the bridge. "Status report," Gendo demanded.

"Blue  _and_  Orange Patterns detected, coming from... Matsushiro," Hyuga said with a gasp.

" _No_ ," Maya whispered in horror, realizing what the flux in different wavelength patterns meant.

"I want visuals now," Gendo ordered. Soon, footage from an aerial drone began showing up on the main screen of the command center. Everyone gasped at the sight before them. The Matsushiro testing facility lay in ruins, while the black and yellow armored giant known as Unit 03 slowly lumbered away from the carnage.

Above them, Gendo Ikari cleared his throat. "Lieutenant Ibuki, please confirm the status of the Thirteenth Angel," Gendo said, his glasses reflecting the light from the main screen, hiding the concerned expression on his face along with his gloved hands being postured in their usual manner.

"Commander, I-" " _Lieutenant_ , please  _confirm_ ," Gendo said again, firmer this time.

"Affirmative. Evangelion Production Model Unit Three is now reclassified as the Thirteenth Angel," Maya said reluctantly.

Above her, Gendo and Fuyutsuki watched the screen with fear. "The Thirteenth Angel. Known in the Dead Sea Scrolls as Bardiel. The humiliated son of God," Gendo said quietly.

"Yes, and since it possesses an Evangelion... Ikari, it could pass right through our automated defenses without fail," Fuyutsuki said worriedly. "If it makes its way into the Geofront, our systems will let it pass into Terminal Dogma without resistance, so long as it reverts to an Orange Pattern," he added with a gulp.

"Lieutenant Aoba, contact the Defense Force and inform them of the situation. I am requesting that they have Jet Alone on standby as a precaution," Gendo said.

"Affirmative," Aoba replied before switching the channels on his console and communicating with the local JSSDF forces.

"Commander, what about the staff at Matsushiro?" Hyuga asked with concern.

"Send rescue teams to the site, but tell them to steer clear of Unit Three. In the meantime, I want the remaining Evangelions sortied as soon as possible. All of them," Gendo said firmly.

"S-Sir? Are you sure?" Hyuga asked nervously. In the past couple of weeks, it had become common knowledge among most of NERV's staff that 2nd Lieutenant Asuka Langley Sohryu was now pregnant with Airman Toji Suzuhara's child, especially after Ritsuko had begun pulling the girl's name from all scheduled sync tests.

"I'm positive. Given the nature of this particular Angel, we will need every advantage we can get, including numerical superiority. If this Angel cannot be stopped... then we will have no choice but to initiate the Armageddon Contingency," Gendo replied.

"We must use every resource at our disposal to halt this Angel's progress, or all will be lost," he added with a grimace. When aerial drone footage soon showed the entry plug stuck in the Eva, Gendo raised an eyebrow. "Lieutenant Ibuki, what is the status of the pilot?" Gendo asked.

"I... I don't know," Maya replied shakily. "I can't get any readings from the entry plug," she added. "I can't even send or receive any communication channels from it. I can't contact the pilot or see their vital signs," she finished reporting.

"Lieutenant Aoba, what were the pilots readings prior to the cut-off from Matsushiro?" Gendo asked, having been told ahead of time by Ritsuko that she would be having someone, most likely Aoba, monitoring things remotely.

"Uh... the pilot had a sync ratio of fifteen percent. He was below the borderline," Aoba replied.

"Understood. Lieutenant Ibuki, attempt a remote ejection of the entry plug," Gendo ordered after hearing Aoba's words.

"Affirmative," Maya replied. She entered a command into her console. Up on the screen the drone footage showed the entry plug becoming jammed as it tried to eject.

"Dammit," Maya muttered.

"Attempt remote reinsertion of entry plug," Gendo ordered.

"Huh?" Maya asked him.

"Attempt remote reinsertion of the entry plug. In the event that an entry plug's ejection is halted by some means, reinsertion and then re-ejection can be attempted in all Eva models from Unit Two onward," Gendo explained.

"Right," Maya said as she entered the rarely-used remote reinsertion command. The entry plug quickly slid back into place on the screen. Maya then entered the remote ejection command, watching in frustration as the entry plug became stuck as it strained against the blue webbing surrounding it once again.

"It's not working!" Maya cried out.

"Try it again. Re-insert and then re-eject the entry plug," Gendo ordered.

Maya followed the instructions given to her. "It's still not working!" she exclaimed once more in a panic.

"Try it again," Gendo ordered, doing his best to remain calm. Without Misato around, he would have to take full command of the situation, and he did not have the same tactical genius which Misato possessed. He could still out-think most people around him, but he was not a military strategist or a tactician.

Maya tried once more, again to no avail. "It still isn't working. The entry plug can't break free," Maya said worriedly.

"One more time," Gendo ordered. Maya followed her instructions a fifth time, only to achieve the same result yet again.

Looking up at the screen, the entire command crew watched as Unit 03 strode through the mountainside, brushing aside trees as it made a strange series of turns on its path, as if it were confused by its surroundings. "Sir! Section Two reports that they have all available pilots except Kirishima! ETA is four minutes," Hyuga reported.

"What? Wait... try contacting Unit Four. Sergeant Kirishima was supposed to be testing the new weapon systems today," Gendo said. Hyuga nodded his head.

"Commander, Unit Four is currently inside the holding cage. It just returned from the testing range about... ten minutes before the alarms went off. I'll have Section Two search the base for her," Hyuga reported.

"Understood. She's probably still here if so little time has passed," Gendo said. "Once all pilots are assembled, I want their Evas deployed to Nagano. We'll stop it at at the village of Minamimaki," Gendo ordered. Time was of the essence.

* * *

**Outskirts of Tokyo-3, Fifteen Minutes Later...**

As soon as the five Evangelions had reached the surface, they began to spread out towards a location marked on a map sent to their entry plug screens by Hyuga. " _Come in HQ, may we finally have some visual confirmation of the Angel?_ " Mana asked over the com. Soon, the image of Unit 03 appeared on everyone's screens.

"What!?" Asuka asked from inside her entry plug. "That can't be right! That's an Eva!" she added in disbelief.

" _I'm afraid it is_ ," Gendo's voice stated over the coms. " _Unit Three has been reclassified as the Thirteenth Angel. If the Angel breaches the Geofront, our automated defenses will do nothing against it, as it possesses the body of an Evangelion. The JSSDF is setting up a line of defense around the perimeter of Tokyo Three as we speak, with evacuations being prepared as well. Jet Alone is standing by as the final line of defense, although if you fail, I doubt that Jet Alone will fare any better_ ," Gendo said over the com.

" _What about the pilot?_ " Shinji asked over the com. A pit began to form in Asuka's gut as she realized no mention had been made regarding survivors of the wrecked Matsushiro site. She gulped in fear as she listened to the conversation on the com.

" _The pilot and the entry plug are still intact. We have been unable to remotely eject the entry plug from the infected Eva_ ," Gendo said over the com. Asuka's eyes widened.  _Toji... he's still in there!_

" _What is the pilot's current sync rate?_ " Mana asked over the com.

" _The pilot's last recorded sync rate was at fifteen percent. Airman Suzuhara did not reach the borderline. Any damage done to the Eva will not be felt by him, if he is still synchronized with the Eva at all_ ," Gendo said over the com.

" _Okay, Commander, I am requesting special equipment for this mission_ ," Mana said over the com.

" _What sort of equipment?_ " Gendo asked over the com.

" _When I shipped over here last year, I brought a few weapons with my Eva, along some special ammunition. In the Evangelion Equipment Storage hangar, there should be some cases of special Bakelite training rounds for our weapons_ ," Mana explained.

" _Bakelite training rounds?_ " Gendo asked her curiously.

"Wait, what do you mean by training rounds?" Asuka asked over the com.

" _Back at Second Branch, Colonel Barnes would have me and Wagner train in combat simulations against each other, as live opponents. Our weapons would use special rounds filled with Bakelite. The Bakelite would impact out Evas and harden to limit our movement over time, since Barnes didn't want us using live ammunition against each other_ ," Mana explained.

" _I'm positive that a few magazines of the stuff were shipped alongside Unit Four-Beta over here to Japan_ ," Mana added over the com. " _Didn't you guys ever train against each other in combat simulations?_ " Mana asked everyone over the com.

" _Uh... no. Why would we ever need to fight another Eva?_ " Shinji asked over the com.

" _Indeed, the scenario never occurred to us_ ," Rei added.

" _Sorry, but we never got to do anything that fun over in Germany_ ," Mari responded over the com.

"Makinami is correct, Sargent Kirishima. None of us have ever fought against another Evangelion in combat before now," Asuka said.

" _Shit. Okay then, Lieutenant Sohryu, I am requesting permission to take active command of this operation_ ," Mana asked over the com. Asuka blinked in confusion at the image of Mana that popped up on her main screen.

" _El-Tee, I'm the only one here with the training needed to fight another Evangelion. I have a plan to incapacitate the Angel and rescue Airman Suzuhara. Please, I know that I can do this_ ," Mana implored over the com.

Asuka let out a sigh. "Okay. I am temporarily ceding field command from myself to Sergeant Kirishima for the duration of this mission. While my authority still supercedes hers, this operation is currently under her control unless I say otherwise," Asuka said over the com.

" _ **Affirmative**_ ," the other pilots all replied in unison over the com.

A few seconds later, several weapons boxes emerged from the ground, holding specially marked Eva-scaled rifles and pistols. Unit 04 walked over and grabbed a magazine before inserting it into a pallet rifle and pressing a small button on the side. Unit 04 then grabbed a pistol and inserted a magazine into it, before sliding back the top to load the first round into the chamber. It then handed the weapon to Unit 02.

" _The safety is still on. You know how to activate the remote ammo counter, don't you?_ " Mana asked Asuka over the com. "Yeah, I know how to use this. But... are you sure this won't harm the Eva? There's still a pilot inside the entry plug," Asuka reminded Mana, trying her hardest to maintain a professional attitude about herself.

" _Trust me. My Eva's been hit by these things dozens of times before. Whether Suzuhara is synchronized or not, he won't get harmed when these hit the Eva_ ," Mana replied with a knowing smirk on her face. As Asuka conversed with Mana, Unit 04 continued retrieving weapons and handing them out to the other Evas.

Unit 05 received a pallet rifle with a magazine of 30 rounds in it, while Unit 00 received a large bazooka-looking weapon with a giant net folded up inside of it. Unit 01 received a pallet rifle with a magazine of 30 Bakelite rounds in it as well. " _Okay, Makinami and Ikari, I want both you to switch your select-fire modes to semi-auto on your pallet rifles. I only have so many of these training rounds with me, so make every shot count_ ," Mana said over the com. She then retrieved magazines of standard ammunition and handed them to the other Evas as backups.

" _These things have thirty rounds in each magazine. That's plenty,_ " Mari retorted over the com as she forced Unit 05 to attach the magazine of live ammunition to a magnetic spot on her Eva's armor.

" _The Bakelite round supply is finite. Once your magazine is used up, that's it. So, do not open fire until given the order or you have a clear shot. We're gonna divide ourselves into two fire teams once we reach the deployment location_ ," Mana said over the com.

"Wait, what's your plan?" Asuka asked Mana over the com.

" _The plan is simple, really. We use the Bakelite rounds to incapacitate the Eva. After the Bakelite hardens around its limbs, rendering the beast immobile, we can move in and safely retrieve the entry plug. After the entry plug has been removed from the Angel and taken to a safe distance by one of us, the rest of the squad tears the Angel to pieces_ ," Mana explained.

Asuka mulled over Mana's plan in her head. Given Mana's knowledge of the weapons and her special training, it was quiet likely that the plan could actually work.  _We can save Toji and defeat the Angel. We can do this. We can do this!_

"Okay. I like the plan. Commander Ikari, this is Lieutenant Sohryu. I have transferred mission control from myself to Sergeant Kirishima for the duration of this operation. Due to her specialized combat training, her plan to defeat the Angel is our best shot at saving the pilot of Unit Three and defeating the Angel without loss of life," Asuka relayed over the com.

" _Understood. Now, please make your way to the deployment location at Minamimaki. Extra power cables will be available to you once you reach the defense line_ ," Gendo said over the com.

* * *

**Bardiel, Ten Minutes Later, Passing Through Ueda...**

Unlike most of his brethren, Bardiel had no desire to end his existence as soon as possible, as he now had a physical body. Before this, he had been a mere cloud in the sky. Now, he could move freely, do whatever he wanted, and nothing could stop him. While he still intended to merge with Lilith or recover ADAM's remains from where he could feel the faintest hints of the call, Bardiel also desired to explore the world with his new body first.

Gaghiel had been the only of ADAM's children to fully live and exist in the world alongside Lilith's offspring before 2nd Impact. Now... Bardiel wanted to see things. He wanted to touch things. He wanted to make use of this new body before his merger with Lilith to replace the Lilin. As he walked through the city of Ueda, Bardiel noticed the tiny Lilin running and screaming for their lives beneath his armored feet as he walked through their mountains of glass and steel... literally.

Forcing himself through the steel and glass building ahead of him, Bardiel smiled as he heard the screams of the Lilin inside as they fell from great heights or were crushed by falling debris.

_This is_ _ **fun!**_ _Scream, Lilin! Scream_ , Bardiel thought to himself with amusement.

Bardiel produced a gruff sound from his new throat as he looked around, smashing furniture with his armored head before finally passing through the other side of the building, carrying it with him as it soon collapsed on top of him. A few seconds passed by as Bardiel processed this odd feeling of being covered by the collapsed structure, before he began pushing himself up, rising through the wreckage and standing proud once more, using his arms and hands to brush the debris and dust off of his armor. He then briefly shook himself to lose more debris before he resumed his slow march through the city.

_That... was an_ _ **unpleasant**_ _sensation_ , Bardiel though to himself.

As the city tried to evacuate, Bardiel entered an intersection, crushing cars beneath his feet with little heed for the people trapped within them. Because nearly all Angels before him had made a straight line for Tokyo-3, only population centers in those paths had ever needed to be evacuated. Bardiel, however, had chosen to be the exception to the rule, and as such, the city of Ueda was unprepared for his arrival. Authorities were desperately communicating with officials in the city of Ageo, in the Saitama Prefecture, and the city of Numozu, located in the Shizuoka prefecture.

People in the streets ran and screamed as they left their offices and homes. People parked their cars wherever they could and got out before running away, while some people tried to drive as far away as possible and as fast as possible, causing traffic jams and accidents as hundreds of civililans clogged the streets and sidewalks in their panic. People ran about it terror, pushing each other other, trampling each other, and even turning around by sheer accident as they tried to get away from the black and yellow armored giant walking through the city.

Bardiel continued his trek through the city unopposed, wading through smaller buildings without a care as his legs and feet tore through the concrete and metal walls of the structures with only minor resistance. Stopping briefly, Bardiel raised a leg and then brought it down, stomping his right foot into the ground and trampling the Lilin still inside the damaged building. Bardiel let out a demented chuckle at the screams of the survivors beside his giant feet.

Making his way further into the city, Bardiel soon came across a large open-faced structure, with green grass and brown dirt set up in perfect lines to form a diamond shape. Outside the stadium, dozens of buses were being filled by panicked civilians as they tried to escape the congested parking lot. Bardiel paid them no heed as he waded through the stadium, breaking through the metal stands and crushing the field beneath his giant armored feet.

Inside his helmet, Bardiel smiled at the destruction he was causing. This was  _fun!_  Here he was, the once meek and helpless cloud, now lording over the powerless Lilin below him with his new body. Bardiel let out another chuckle as he bent down to grab part of the stadium and rip it from the ground before throwing it at the various vehicles in the parking lot.

Bardiel's eyes went half-lidded in pleasure as he watched the destruction unfolding before him. However, the call of ADAM could not be ignored forever, and he felt himself being drawn away from the screaming and panicking Lilin below him. With a sigh of reluctance, Bardiel began making his way towards the call. He still took his time of course, savoring the sensation of having a body while also taking joy in the death and destruction he was causing, as he made his way toward Hakone.

* * *

**The First Defense Line, Village of Minamimaki, Nagano Prefecture...**

As soon as the five Evas reached their destination, four of them retrieved new power cables, while Unit 04 elected to only plug a new cable in to recharge its internal battery before taking it out again after ten minutes. "Okay, Fire Team Alpha will consist of Corporal Ayanami, Warrant Officer Makinami, and myself," Mana said over the com. "Fire Team Beta will consist of Corporal Ikari and Lieutenant Sohryu. El-Tee, I want you and Corporal Ikari to remain here by the village. The rest of us will make our way further up and take defensive positions along the Angel's path," Mana said over the com.

" _Affirmative_ ," Asuka replied over the com.

Looking out around the evacuated village, Mana saw several JSSDF tanks and VTOLs stationed nearby, waiting for their signal to attack. "This is Sergeant Mana Kirishima of the Evangelion Pilot Corps to all JSSDF forces at the Minamimaki Defense Line, please do not engage the Angel unless it passes by the train station, or if Lieutenant Sohryu asks for assistance," Mana said as she switched channels on the com system.

" _Affirmative. This is Lieutenant Colonel Saegusa awaiting further orders. NERV has jurisdiction. We're just backup,_ " the man said over the radio and through the com. "I appreciate your cooperation, Colonel. This is Unit Four, out," Mana said over the com, before she switched back to the main channel.

The three Evas made their way forward, passing into a large open space by a mountain pass. They checked their umbilical cables for tension and slack. Satisfied that their cables had enough length, the three Evas dispersed into flanking positions as they waited for the target to arrive.

**One Hour Later...**

A loud thooming sound was heard as the forests went quiet. Waiting in a crouching position, Unit 04 slowly looked around for signs of the target, before she finally saw it. In the daylight, the armor of the Eva stood out easily. With a black main body, and yellow highlights on the legs, arms, and shoulder pylons, the Eva-turned Angel vaguely resembled a giant bee or a wasp. Mana hated wasps.

"Target is approaching. Makinami, please confirm visual of the target," Mana requested over the com. " _Affirmative. Target confirmed_ ," Mari replied over the com. "Corporal Ayanami, please confirm visual of the target," Mana requested.

" _Target confirmed. Awaiting orders_ ," Rei replied calmly over the com.

"All right, wait for the target to pass between us. Makinami, on my signal, I want you to open fire at the target's ankles first. Then target the knees. Then the thighs and waist. One or two rounds for each location. After that, target the shoulders and torso. Cover it so that it can't move its limbs," Mana said over the com.

" _Affirmative. What's the signal?_ " Mari asked over the com as Bardiel slowly passed through the area, walking alongside the train line. "The signal will be very easy. I'll tell you to fire," Mana replied, rolling her eyes.

"Ayanami, after Makinami has painted the target with Bakelite, I want you to stand by with the net launcher. Only fire if I give you the order to do so. After the Bakelite has hardened, I'm going to use my progressive knife to cut the entry plug out of the Eva and hand it off to you. I want you to take the entry plug to a safe distance while Makinami and I switch to using live ammunition in our guns," Mana said.

Bardiel soon was in position as he passed by the crouching Evangelions. "Deploying A.T. Field. Neutralization of target A.T. Field confirmed," Mana reported over the com. Unit 05 switched off the safety of its pallet rifle, and then Unit 04 raised a fist into the air before extending a single digit and pointing it at Bardiel. "Makinami... fire!" Mana said over the com.

Unit 05 fired the Bakelite rounds at Bardiel's ankles, hitting them both and covering them. The Angel quickly spun around and assumed a crouching position on all fours before lunging at Unit 05 with lightning speed, catching Mari off guard and causing the Bakelite to fall off the ankles and onto the ground below. Bardiel slammed his hands into Unit 05's torso, pushing the Eva back to the ground.

Grabbing the rifle, Bardiel raised it up as a club and then brought it down onto Unit 05's head again and again, causing Mari to whimper inside the entry plug as she clutched at her head in pain. "Makinami!" Mana cried out as Unit 04 raised its pistol and fired two rounds at Bardiel's shoulders. The rounds impacted and sent the orange liqud splashing around the joints, before Bardiel turned around and threw the rifle at Unit 04, knocking the Eva off balance.

"Rei! Fire the net!" Mana cried out over the com. " _Affirmative!_ " Rei replied as Unit 00 sent a giant net shooting forward at Bardiel. The net expanded and covered the dark Angel, which then raised its limbs up to struggle against the netting, letting out a roar of anger and confusion as he became tangled up and fell to the ground, rolling around in a futile effort to remove himself from his entanglement.

Growing increasingly angry, Bardiel focused his A.T. Field and ripped through the net before jumping into the air to land on two feet. He opened his mouth and growled at Unit 00, which was holding the net cannon defensively, like a club. Bardiel smirked behind the jaw covers of his helmet, the white lining of his eye covers becoming translucent to show his pupils and irises as his eyes narrowed at Unit 00.

The beast he was facing, and the body he was inhabiting, were almost one in the same, Bardiel realized. They were both made from the flesh of ADAM. The yellow-armored beast in front of him steadied itself as they circled each other, with Bardiel glancing towards the ground as an idea entered his head. Slowly, he continued to move closer, until he stepped into a ditch and lost his footing.

Unit 00 took the opportunity and swung the cannon, hitting Bardiel in the torso with a mighty cracking sound. Bardiel stumbled back as Unit 00 lifted the cannon and swung it again, hitting him into the abdomen, causing him to double over in pain, before it raised the cannon and prepared to bring it down, only to stop as it saw the entry plug stuck in Bardiel's back. The Eva hesitated for a moment, allowing Bardiel to recover and lunge at Unit 00, pushing it to the ground and grabbing it by the throat with his left hand before delivering blow after blow to the cyclops's face with his right hand balled into a fist.

Spitting at the cyclops in anger, Bardiel glanced over at the fallen cannon and grabbed it, before lifting it up and repaying Unit 00 for its earlier attack. Unit 00 raised its arms to block the attack and grab the cannon, struggling against Bardiel as the two played a game of tug-o-war. Eventually, neither of them won, because Unit 04 plowed into Bardiel from the side, sending both of them tumbling to the ground.

With Unit 04 lacking the power cable of the other Evas, it was able to maneuver with much more freedom than they could. Kicking Bardiel off of her Eva, Mana forced Unit 04 to rise up and un-holster its pistol, loaded with Bakelite rounds. As Bardiel righted himself and lunged forward, Unit 04 fired at the incoming Eva, hitting it in the chest with five rounds of Bakelite, which began to spread out and harden.

Unit 04 fired again, hitting Bardiel in the shoulder. Unfortunately, the Angel kept moving its arm, preventing the Bakelite from hardening into a solid piece, and instead hardened into multiple fractured segments, many of which fell to the ground as Bardiel began weaving back and forth to avoid Unit 04's weapon.

"Son of a bitch!" Mana spat inside her entry plug. Bardiel soon found itself in a crouching position, before lunging at Unit 04. The silver and red Eva quickly side-stepped the Angel and fired at its limbs again, hitting Bardiel in the right thigh, before the gun clicked empty and the slide pushed back to reveal an empty chamber.

"Shit!" Mana swore in frustration before she pushed the slide back in and re-arranged the gun in her hand so that she was gripping it by the barrel. She quickly charged forward and leapt over Bardiel before spinning around and swiping at him with the grip of the pistol, slamming it into his armored face and knocking him back.

Standing up, Unit 05 retrieved its fallen rifle and checked it for damage before aiming and firing at Bardiel, hitting him in the thighs and groin region. " _Good thing ya don't have a dick, or that would hurt, wouldn't it, asshole!?_ " Mari shouted over the com.

"Uh, Mari? I don't think he can hear us," Mana said, noting that all communications with Unit 03's entry plug were cut off. There was no way to find out if Toji was okay inside there. There was no way of knowing if he was even still alive.  _He should be. He has to be alive in there... right? I mean, the entry plug may be connected to the Eva's systems, but it's still a modular part of it. Toji should be okay in there, as long as we don't damage the entry plug, Toji should be fine_ , Mana thought to herself as the Bakelite began to harden around Bardiel's limbs, hindering his movement.

Bardiel grunted in frustration as he tried to move, before he started growling and snarling at the two Evas that were approaching his immobile form. Bardiel looked between the two Evangelions and narrowed his eyes in anger at them.  _Get away from me ver-wait a minute, that one smells like... Lilith! So, the Lilin have used their own mother to create these abominations, have they? Clever. Very clever. It makes sense. The only way to stop me and my brethren is to have the power that we ourselves possess,_  Bardiel thought to himself.

_Too bad... none of you are complete. None of you are whole. No matter... I will break you. All of you_ , Bardiel thought with a grin as he began slamming his fists against the Bakelite covering his legs. He began wiggling his waist to help his efforts.

"Ayanami, get behind it and cut out the entry plug! Do it now!" Mana cried out over the com as she pushed Unit 04 over to the black Eva in an effort and restrain it. Unit 00 quickly moved from its spot on the ground and rushed over to the back side of the Angel. Unit 00 took out its progressive knife and prepared the cut the blue webbing around the entry plug, only for Unit 03, which was wrestling with Unit 04, to finally break loose and swing the silver Eva around, slamming it into Unit 00 and knocking both of them onto the ground.

Bardiel then looked at Unit 05, which proceeded to aim and fire more Bakelite rounds at him, only for Bardiel to leap forward and slammed into the olive green Eva's abdomen, knocking it back to the ground. Bardiel grabbed the rifle and stood up, before mimicking the Eva's actions and firing the weapon, covering the green cyborg's body with Bakelite, pressing one foot down on its torso while depleting the ammo supply of the weapon.

" _Sergeant! This thing learns! It used my gun on me!_ " Mari cried out over the com.

"Son of a bitch!" Mana swore as she pulled Unit 04 off of Unit 00 and stood up. She turned the Eva around, just in time to see the empty rifle sailing through the air towards Unit 04's head. The weapon impacted and sent Unit 04 stumbling backwards before it fell to the ground, leaving Unit 00 the last one standing.

Unit 00 and Bardiel began to circle one another. Unit 00 held its progressive knife in one hand, brandishing it defensively as Rei awaited Bardiel's attack. Soon, as the two cyborgs circled each other, Bardiel leaned himself to the left, before bolting to the right. Rei fell for the feint, and Bardiel soon had the upper hand as he was able to get behind Unit 00, kicking out a leg and tripping the yellow cyborg.

Noticing the power cable attached to the yellow cyborg, Bardiel grabbed it and began tugging on it, using his armored feet to apply pressure against Unit 00 to keep it down. After a few more tugs, the power cable gave way and Bardiel stumbled back as he held it in his hands. He then looked down at Unit 00, which was now trying to push itself off the ground, before he swung the power cable at it, hitting the cyclops in the head.

Pulling the cable back, Bardiel swung it around again and again, hitting Unit 00 multiple times and knocking it to the ground.  _I like this_ , Bardiel thought to himself as he continued whipping Unit 00 with the power cable.  _But... I think I know something that might be more fun_ , Bardiel thought as he stopping swinging the cable and walked over to the Eva.

Measuring the length of cable in his hands, Bardiel began looped it under Unit 00's head and then pulled it against the cyborg's throat. Unit 00 brought its hands up to clutch the cable as Bardiel began choking it. The Angel soon let out a demented laugh as the Eva struggled against it, fighting for the life of its pilot.

Inside Unit 00's entry plug, Rei clutched at her throat, feeling her airway being constricted through her synchronization with the Eva. She glanced at the countdown timer on her screen, showing how much time she had until her Eva ran out of power. There were ninety seconds left on the clock.  _I don't think I can make it_ , Rei thought, terrified.

Suddenly, she felt her airways expand again, and she used her Eva's external cameras to check behind it, seeing Unit 04 knocking Unit 03 to the ground.

Bardiel lifted a leg up and kicked Unit 04 away. Turning over, Bardiel pushed himself off the ground, before turning around to face the silver and red Eva. Unit 04 had taken up a defensive stance, holding its progressive knife like a trained killer. Bardiel grinned behind his helmet before getting on all fours and lunging forward.

Unit 04 stepped to the side and brought the knife up, slicing into Bardiel's right arm, drawing blood. Bardiel hissed in pain as he stumbled forward, before rolling himself around and leaping back to avoid another swipe from Unit 04. Bardiel snarled at the silver Eva, which then gestured with its free hand to him to attack again.

Bardiel stood up on two legs before he began to circle Unit 04, which crouched low before lunging forward, slicing into Bardiel's abdomen before stepping back and swinging itself around to deliver a roundhouse kick to the wounded area, knocking Bardiel back to the ground. Bardiel placed a hand on the wound and brought it up for inspection, looking at the blood on his armored hand.

Inside her entry plug, Mana scrunched her face into a snarl. "I'm done playing around," she muttered angrily. "I'm gonna cut you to pieces," she spat at the image of the Angel on her main screen.

Still laying on the ground, Bardiel glared at the silver Eva, before using his S2 Organ to heal his wound and stand up. Unit 04 took a step back as Mana stared wide-eyed at already-healed wound. "No way," she muttered in astonishment with wide eyes, before gulping as she realized how quickly the tide could turn.

Bardiel then repeated her own gesture from earlier at her. "So, Mari was right. You  _do_  learn. Well then, I've got some new things to teach ya," Mana said with a smirk as she pushed Unit 04 forward, carefully dipping low before springing up to slash at Bardiel's throat with the progressive knife. Bardiel stepped back just in time to receive only a ding against the armor.

As Unit 04's right arm moved back, Bardiel reached out and grabbed it, twisting the wrist in his hand to force the Eva to drop the knife as Unit 04's left hand grabbed Bardiel's arm to pull it away. The pressure was too much, and Unit 04 dropped the knife onto the ground below, before it grabbed Bardiel's right shoulder pylon with its left hand and slammed its head into the Angel's head.

Both opponents stumbled back from each other, slightly disoriented, before Unit 04 lunged forward, crouching low to deliver three swift jabs to Bardiel's gut. Unit 04 then lunged upward to perform an uppercut, catching Bardiel by the chin and knocking the beast back, sending it falling to the ground. Unit 04 stayed on the offensive, lunging forward, only for Bardiel to lift both legs up in time to catch Unit 04 and send it sailing overhead.

The silver Eva twisted itself in the air as it crashed into the ground, rolling over before pushing itself up to rush toward the recovering Angel. Unit 04 quickly delivered a kick to the Angel's head, knocking it over before kicking it in the gut again. As Unit 04 lifted its leg up to deliver another stomp, Bardiel grabbed something lying on the ground nearby and bolted upward.

Mana gasped as she felt the phantom pain of her Eva being stabbed in the thigh with its own progressive knife. "S-Son of a... b-bitch!" Mana swore in agony as the Angel twisted the knife before pulling it out and stabbing again into the Eva's abdomen. Mana clenched her teeth and grabbed at her own abdomen in pain.

"Ack!" she cried out in agony as Bardiel pulled back and arm and sent a fist flying towards Unit 04's head, knocking it back. The silver Eva stumbled around until Bardiel caught up to it and delivered a kick to its bleeding abdomen, causing Mana to cry out in pain inside her entry plug.

"Oh fuck!" she swore as she squinted her eyes while looking at the screen. She forced herself to grab the control yokes again and try to fight back, successfully, grabbing Bardiel's right arm, before he used other one to grab Unit 04 by the throat. Bardiel quickly applied more force to push the silver Eva down into the trees.

Mana saw the bloodied knife in the Angel's hand and knew that she wouldn't be able to fight much longer. Bardiel soon lifted up a leg and pressed his left knee into Unit 04's abdomen, grinning behind his helmet as the Eva struggled against him. He could feel the Eva beginning to lose strength, as Mana removed one of her A-10 connectors from her hair.

"I can play dead, and then follow him when his back is turned," she said to herself, before she proceeded to remove the other connector. She then entered a command using a keyboard nearby, and her Eva de-synchronized, just as Bardiel ripped his arm free of Unit 04's grip and slashed the progressive knife across the silver Eva's throat, drawing blood.

"Shit!" Mana swore as she felt the faintest phantom pain of the slash. She held a hand up to her throat and gulped. "I... I can't re-synchronize now!" she cried out in panic.  _If I do... I could die from the wounds_ , she realized.

* * *

**Command Center, NERV HQ...**

Gendo and the other bridge personnel watched in silent horror as Bardiel slowly rose from the unmoving and bleeding body of Unit 04, standing above it as the victor. The Angel then slowly turned and walked over to Unit 05 while holding the progressive knife at the ready. Gendo quickly realized what the Angel was going to do.

"Lieutenant Ibuki! Quickly, remotely de-synchronize Unit Five's pilot! Now!" Gendo barked at the short-haired lieutenant. Maya nodded her head in understanding before entering the command for remote de-synchronization. "Contact the pilot and tell her to remain de-synchronized until further notice," Gendo barked, just as he looked back up in time to see the Angel lean down and prepare to drag the knife across the Eva's throat.

As soon as the Eva's eyes went dark and it slumped, Bardiel stopped and tilted its head in curiosity. It then stood up and walked away, the aerial drones following it as it made its way towards the village of Minamimaki, where the First Defense Line and the remaining Evangelions were waiting.

_This isn't good_ , Gendo thought to himself.  _This Angel is far more dangerous than the scrolls had predicted. It is far more intelligent than any other Angel we've encountered so far, save perhaps Leliel_ , Gendo realized with a frown.

* * *

**First Defense Line, Minamimaki Village...**

Inside the entry plug, Shinji gulped as he tried contacting the other pilots over the com. "Come in, please!" he begged as he received only static from Unit 00 and Unit 05. " _Ikari, this is Sergeant Kirishima. That thing is heading your way. Don't underestimate it! It can learn, Ikari! It can learn! It already knows how to use a knife and a gun! One wrong move, and you're dead_ ," Mana warned over the com.

Shinji gulped in fear as he processed Mana's words. "Everything's falling apart," he muttered to himself as he saw the Angel approaching in the distance, appearing around the mountain pass and confidently striding towards him. Shinji noticed the knife in its hands, dripping with blood.

"K-Kirishima? W-What happened to Rei and Mari?" Shinji asked over the com. " _They're alive. Rei ran out of power and it left her alone, while Mari was remotely de-synchronized before the Angel could finish her off. I de-synchronized myself to fool it into thinking I was dead, but that backfired on me. I can't synchronize with my Eva again, or I might risk dying. This thing is a quick learner, so stay on your toes_ ," Mana explained.

"It's here," Shinji said nervously as he saw the large figure approaching on his main screen. " _Then I'll let you focus. Remember, immobilize it and let Sohryu retrieve the entry plug, but make sure to move quickly_ ," Mana said over the com. " _Best of luck to you. Out_ ," Mana said before cutting the connection.

Shinji nodded his head before opening up a com window to speak with Asuka. "Asuka, are you ready? I'll use the Bakelite rounds to slow it down, and then you can get the entry plug out of it," Shinji said. Asuka nodded her head on the com window. " _Affirmative. Just don't waste those bullets, Shinji_ ," Asuka said over the com.

Shinji nodded his head and forced his Eva to take up a kneeling position as it aimed the pallet rifle at Bardiel. Bardiel stopped moving and looked around the village, seeing the various military vehicles spread out behind the Evas. Bardiel then returned his attention to Unit 01 and Unit 02.

Behind his helmet, Bardiel grinned, before opening his jaws and running his tongue over his teeth and the jaws of the helmet. He assumed a combat stance similar to what Unit 04 had assumed earlier while fighting, before gesturing for the two Evas to attack him. The two Evas remained still, although Unit 02 seemed to falter slightly as it tilted its head in confusion.

Unit 01 held her rifle steady, before she squeezed the trigger and sent a single round shooting through the air, hitting Bardiel's chest. Bardiel quickly began running to the side, going around towards the buildings of the village and stepping close to Nobeyama Station. " _Shinji, fire!_ " Asuka shouted over the com.

"I can't! I might miss!" Shinji retorted as he kept tracking the Angel's moves. " _Aim for where it's going to be, not for where it is!_ " Asuka shouted. Shinji nodded his head and forced Unit 01 to aim the rifle ahead of the moving Angel, firing off two rounds in quick succession. Both rounds impacted the Angel's right knee. The Angel kept moving, preventing the substance from solidifying into one big covering over its joints.

The Angel then turned itself and ran towards Unit 01, before leaping into the air and slamming both feet into Unit 01's chest, pushing her back to the ground. Bardiel raised the hand holding the knife and brought it down, only for Unit 01 to let go of her rifle and catch the arm. Bardiel raised a fist and slammed it into Unit 01's head.

" _Shinji!_ " Asuka cried out over the com, before she fired two rounds from her pistol at the Angel, hitting the left shoulder pylon. The Angel quickly focused his attention on her and snarled, before Unit 01 kicked him off. Bardiel twisted himself in the air so as to land on all four limbs several dozen meters away, dropping the knife. He growled at the two Evas, before grabbing the knife in his right hand. He then shot his right arm forward, extending it and breaking pieces of the armor in the process.

"What the fu-aaaack!" Shinji cried out in pain as Bardiel's extended right arm stabbed the knife into Unit 01's abdomen, twisting it repeatedly. "Oh fuck! It hurts!" Shinji cried out in agony inside his entry plug as he clamped his hands over his lower abdominal area while the phantom pain spread.

Bardiel grinned at the sight of the Eva doubling down in pain as he kept twisting the knife in its gut, before he finally pulled back. Unit 01 sank down onto one knee as she looked up at him and reached for the dropped rifle, before Bardiel stood up and threw the knife at the Eva, slamming it into the upper left chest region.

Unit 01 brought a hand up to where the knife had stuck itself in her, while Shinji clutched at his chest in pain inside the entry plug. Bardiel then shot his left arm forward, extending it and breaking the armor, and grabbed the gun in Unit 02's hands, playing a game of tug-of-war with the red Eva, before pulling the Eva towards him and then shooting his right arm back out to push it back, ripping the pistol from its hands and tossing it away.

Bardiel then stood up and prepared to rush the red Eva, before he felt pain as a progressive knife embedded itself in his right thigh. Bardiel turned to look at Unit 01, which was slowly getting back to her feet. Bardiel then turned himself and rushed forward before slamming himself into Unit 01, pushing her back onto the ground and clamping a hand around her throat as she grabbed his arm and tried to push him off.

Bardiel grabbed the knife and pulled it from his thigh before raising it up and stabbing it into Unit 01's left eye.

" _ **HurrraaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHH!**_ " Shinji screamed in agony as he clutched his left eye. He could still see out of it, but the sympathetic pain he felt through his synchronization with the Eva made it impossible for him to focus. Because of this, Unit 01 was only able to bring a hand up to grab the knife and pull it out, before Bardiel grabbed the Eva's wrist and forced the Eva to drop the weapon, before he placed his other hand around Unit 01's throat, joining both hands together in a vice-like grip around the Eva's armored wind pipe.

Bardiel licked his teeth and armored jaws in anticipation as he began to choke the Evangelion, inhaling and watching the Eva struggle with wide eyes and a mad grin behind his helmet.

"A-Asuka! I-I can't-help me!" Shinji cried out over the com. He could feel the life being choked out of him through his synchronized connection to Unit 01. Unit 01 gripped Bardiel's wrists tightly as she tried to pry him off of her, but Bardiel simply applied more pressure around her armored throat. Shinji began to feel light-headed. "I-I can't... I can't breathe!" he choked out, his lungs beginning to burn as his felt his windpipe constrict in synchronization with that of Unit 01.

Meanwhile, Unit 02 was desperately searching for the dropped pistol. It soon found it, before Asuka heard a gasp from Shinji over the com. She turned Unit 02 to see Bardiel letting go of the now lifeless Eva, letting it fall to the ground in a slump.

"Sh-Shinji? Shinji!? Shinji!" Asuka screamed over the com. " _Lieutenant Sohryu, Corporal Ikari has been remotely de-synchronized from his Eva_ ," Maya Ibuki said over the com. " _He's still alive, but we can't allow him to re-synchronize until his vitals have returned to normal. It's all up to you now_ ," Maya said over the com.

_I... I can't beat this thing on my own, can I? I have to. Everyone's depending on me. Everyone needs me to beat it. Toji needs me! I'll aim for the arms and shoulders. Keep it from extending them, and then I can cut the entry plug out of its back. It won't be easy, but I can do it! I have to do it! I have to, for our baby's sake_ , Asuka thought to herself.

She then saw the fallen pallet rifle on the ground. That would have more ammunition, and it would make things easier. If she could just get to it in time. Asuka smirked as she formed a plan to get the rifle. She opened fire at the ground near the Angel's feet, causing it to leap away.

Asuka then pushed Unit 02 forward, diving for the rifle on the ground. Unit 02 grabbed the rifle and stood up, before Bardiel slammed into it, knocking it back to the ground. Unit 02 used the rifle to push Bardiel back and slammed the butt of the rifle into the Angel's head before kicking him away. Unit 02 then aimed the rifle at Bardiel and opened fire, hitting him in the chest, groin, thighs, shoulders, knees, and elbows with round after round of Bakelite-filled bullets.

Being at such close range when the weapon was fired, Bardiel had little chance to evade the bullets.  _No! No, this is not happening! Not again! I... I... wait... oh, yes... If I can do_ _ **that**_ _..._

With the Bakelite hardening around the stunned Angel, Unit 02 quickly grabbed its progressive knife from its shoulder pylon and trudged over to the backside of the black Evangelion. Asuka smirked as she lowered the knife to the blue webbing around the entry plug and began to cut, only to gasp in shock as the Angel began to vibrate, before two large humps formed in its back.

"What the hell are-" Asuka was cut off when two dark arms with splotches of glowing blue veins broke out of the Eva's back and swatted at her, startling her and causing Unit 02 to drop the knife. "What the fuck!?" Asuka asked in shock as the two arms began beating on the Bakelite to such a degree as to make themselves bleed, until the Bakelite began to fracture.

"No! No, this isn't happening," Asuka cried out as she forced Unit 02 to pick up the progressive knife from the ground and try to cut the entry plug free again, only to be stopped when Bardiel shot up from the ground and whirled around to face her, running his tongue over his teeth and armored jaws. "No! No!" Asuka cried out in anger as she rushed the Angel, only to realize her mistake when Bardiel caught both of Unit 02's arms and forced her to walk backwards.

Bardiel then used his back arms to grab Unit 02's throat. A demented laugh sounded from Bardiel's mouth as he began to choke Unit 02. He slowly applied the pressure, letting up for a brief moment, before re-applying it again, taking his time to draw out his opponent's suffering and savor the feeling of victory as much as possible.  _I win, Lilin! I win_ , Bardiel thought to himself gleefully as he slowly choked Unit 02, grinning madly behind the helmet at his opponent's futile efforts to fight back.

Inside the entry plug, Asuka's eyes widened as she felt her throat being constricted through her synchronization with Unit 02.  _No! M-My baby! I-I... If I de-synchronize to try fooling the Angel, it might rip apart Unit Two or damage it enough make it unsafe to re-synchronize with it. But if I don't de-synchronize soon, I'll die, and so will my baby! Someone, please help me!_

* * *

**Command Center, NERV HQ...**

"Lieutenant Ibuki, activate the Dummy System," Gendo ordered.

Maya turned around to face whim with a look of shock. "But, Commander! It still isn't ready for field testing! We don't know how it will react," Maya protested.

"It's better than letting the pilot die. _Please_ , Lieutenant, activate the Dummy System," Gendo ordered sternly. Everyone's eyes widened at his statement, having never heard him express concern for the well-being of any of the pilots until today. "It is the only option left," Gendo added.

"Understood," Maya said reluctantly. She entered the command code to activate the Dummy System, and then lifted her head to watch the main screen. "D-Dummy System... activated."

* * *

**Village Of Minamimaki...**

Inside the entry plug of Unit 02, Asuka felt the pressure around her throat begin to lessen, before the lights in her entry plug went dark and then glowed red. "W-What's going on?" Asuka asked in confusion. She looked at the entry plug's main screen as it showed a message on it.

**DUMMY SYSTEM INITIATED...**

**...**

**INITIATING STARTUP SEQUENCE...**

**...**

**PLEASE DO NOT INTERRUPT THE ACTIVATION SEQUENCE OF DUMMY SYSTEM...**

**...**

**THANK YOU FOR WAITING.**

**DUMMY SYSTEM NOW ACTIVATED.**

**SYSTEM MODEL: AYANAMI VERSION 2.0 - UPDATED AT 17:25:19, JANUARY 09, 2044.**

**...**

**MISSION OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATE BLUE-PATTERN TARGET.**

**SYSTEM WILL SHUT DOWN AFTER ALL MISSION PARAMETERS HAVE BEEN MET.**

**PLEASE WAIT FOR SYSTEM TO COMPLETE MISSION.**

**THANK YOU.**

"W-What? What the hell is this!?" Asuka asked in alarm and confusion, before she watched as the arms of her Eva began to move without her input. "What's going on!? Someone talk to me!" Asuka screamed in panic.

" _Asuka, it's okay! We've activated the Dummy System,_ " Maya replied over the com, hiding her own unease to make Asuka feel better. "The what!?" Asuka asked her.

" _The Dummy System. It's a backup piloting system that Doctor Akagi has been developing for the past year. It tricks the Eva into thinking that it's synchronizing with a pilot by mimicking a pilot's thought patterns and brainwaves. This way, your Eva can fight without you suffering any injuries to yourself or... elsewhere_ ," Maya said carefully.

Meanwhile, Unit 02 began to fight back with unexpected strength, pulling Bardiel's normal arms away before lifting up a leg in between their bodies to kick the Angel away. Bardiel held on as the foot applied pressure against his armored chest, before Unit 02 managed to fit its other leg up. With both legs bent, Unit 02 thrusted outward, sending Bardiel stumbling back.

The red Evangelion then jumped up onto both feet and opened its mouth for the first, letting out a roar that caused Bardiel to stop in his tracks. Unit 02 slowly marched forward, crushing everything in its path before raising a fist and swinging it at Bardiel's head, knocking him to the side with the blow, before grabbing the Angel by the throat. Bardiel grabbed a car from the ground nearby and smacked it against Unit 02's face.

The red Eva remained unfazed as it held Bardiel by the throat and pounded his armored face in with blow after blow from its fist. Bardiel clawed at the red Eva, but the beast's new strength greatly outclassed him.  _What's going on!? Where did I lose control!?_

Unit 02 grinned behind its helmet as all four eyes narrowed at Bardiel. Unit 02 then placed its other hand around Bardiel's throat and began to squeeze, letting out a snarl as it paid Bardiel back for his earlier actions. Bardiel grabbed Unit 02's wrists with his hands, desperately struggling to free himself, until his giant windpipe could hold breath no more.

_This isn't happening! This... this isn't... h-hap...happening_ , Bardiel thought, terrified. He had been too arrogant in his power over the other Evas, and now... he was paying the price for his overconfidence. Bardiel let out a terrified gasp before his neck was snapped by the red Eva, and his body slumped limply in its grasp.

* * *

**Command Center, NERV HQ...**

Gendo smirked as Unit 02 held the crumpled form of Bardiel in its hands. "Excellent. Lieutenant Ibuki, you may now return control of the Eva to its pilot," Gendo said.

Maya nodded her head in agreement, before entering a series of commands to shut down the Dummy System. She frowned as she received an error message. "C-Commander? It's not responding," Maya said worriedly.

"Say that again?" Gendo asked her.

"It's not responding! The Dummy System won't cede control back to the pilot! It... It isn't finished with its mission," Maya said, horrified as she looked up at the main screen and saw Unit 02 beginning to act in a savage manner.

"Oh my god! Look at it!" Hyuga cried out as Unit 02 flung Bardiel's body around, tossing it into a hillside nearby.

"Lieutenant Ibuki, keep trying to shut down the Dummy System," Gendo ordered.

* * *

**Minamimaki Village...**

Unit 02 let out what sounded like a keening laugh of some kind, grinning sadistically under its helmet as it grabbed Bardiel's left arm and pulled, ripping it out of its socket, before tossing it to the side. "No! Stop it!" Asuka cried out as she saw what was happening on her entry plug's main screen.

Bardiel weakly tried to resist with his other arms, but Unit 02 snapped the wrists of the back arms like twigs, before pressing a foot down against his chest and pulling them out in a grotesque display of brutal and savage power.

**ELIMINATING BLUE PATTERN TARGET...**

Unit 02 reached down and plunged a fist into Bardiel's stomach, before twisting it around and pulling out the Eva's organs. Bardiel gasped in pain and horror at the feeling and sight of what was happening to him. Unit 02 began digging in as it pulled and ripped the organs our, before grabbing Bardiel's ribcage and ripping it open.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" Asuka shouted over and over again as she tried to control the Eva to make it stop. Nothing would halt the red monster in its efforts to complete its mission.

Uint 02 pulled out organ after organ, throwing them to the side. Entrails flew through the air before crushing houses. Blood spilled over onto the hillside and the streets below. giant kidneys and other body parts flew into houses and crushed vehicles as Unit 02 continued its gory mission.

"Please, stop this! Stop!" Asuka cried out in horror as she watched the carnage on display.

Unit 02 continued eviscerating Unit 03 before grabbing it by the throat and sending a fist into its open mouth, plowing into it and breaking its jaws open. It repeated this action again and again, until Unit 03's head was nothing but mashed brains and bits of skull and armor. And Unit 02 still continued its mission.

"Stop it! Stop it! Please, stop!" Asuka kept crying in horror as she saw the Entry plug inside Unit 03's chest. A horrible pit formed in her stomach as Unit 02 reached down to grab it with its mouth. "No! NO! NO! STOP! Stop, for fuck's sake, please!" Asuka cried out as she heard the metallic groaning of the entry plug.

"No! NO! Toji! TOJIII!" Asuka cried as Unit 02 bit down and crushed the entry plug in its mouth. " _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!_ " she cried out in horror. "NO! NO! NO!" she kept crying. "TOJI! TOJI!" she called out over the com. There was no response. "No, Toji~i!" Asuka cried out.

**MISSION OBJECTIVE COMPLETED.**

**DUMMY SYSTEM WILL NOW SHUT DOWN.**

**THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.**

Unit 02 stood motionless as the Dummy System began shutting down. Its mouth opened and the crushed entry plug fell to the ground. Inside her own entry plug, Asuka could do nothing but draw her legs up to her chest and sob as she processed the horror of what she had just experienced.

**A Short Time Later...**

"This is Rescue Division Five. We've reached the entry plug," the leader of the rescue team said over the radio of his hazmat suit.

" _Good. What is the status of the pilot?_ " Gendo asked over the radio. The Rescue Leader watched as his crew pried open the hatch, before they shuddered at the sight inside. One of them nearly threw up in their helmet.

"It... It's not pretty, sir," The Hazmat leader said.

" _What about the pilot?_ " Gendo asked over the radio.

"Well... there's not much left of him. I'm sorry, sir," the Hazmat leader said, before hanging his head in despair at the sight.

* * *

**ENDING THEME:** _ **Yume No Sukima**_ **/** _ **Opening Of A Dream**_ **, Composed by Shiro Sagisu**.

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Asuka begins mourning Toji's death, while the rest of the pilots and NERV's staff try to cope with the aftermath of the battle with Bardiel in their own way.

* * *

**Alternate Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _When I Find Peace Of Mind_  (Pilots having lunch),  **02**.  _Mamoritai_  (The night before the test),  **03**.  _A Child Recalled_  (Asuka tells Toji about her mother),  **04**.  _Ritsuko_  (Toji rides to Matsushiro/Misato and Ritsuko talk),  **05**.  _The Dragon_  (Toji in the entry plug/Strange readings),  **06**.  _Entrada_  (The 13th Angel revealed),  **07**.  _Manatsu No Shuen_ / _The End of Midsummer_  (Bardiel's rampage),  **08**.  _Taikō he no Kinkyūhinan_ / _Emergency Evacuation To Regression_  (Unit 03 reclassified as 13th Angel),  **09**.  _Preset_  (Bardiel In Ueda),  **10**.  _Les Betes_  (Three Evas against one Angel),  **11**.  _Bluff_  (Mana's desperate fight),  **12**.  _Harbinger Of Tragedy_  (Bardiel versus Eva 01),  **13**.  _Death Dance_  (Bardiel versus Eva 02/Asuka's struggle),  **14**.  _Wreckage And Rape_  (00:00 - 01:31 Dummy System activated, 01:31 - 02:43 Dummy System's savagery/Horrific victory).

* * *

Author's Notes: So... yeah.

Toji's dead, Asuka's still pregnant with his child, and Misato and Ritsuko's statuses are unknown.

I told you guys things would go as wrong as possible for all of the characters in this story. I just didn't say  _when_.

Also, I'd like to mention that I'm deliberately keeping Toji's exact time and cause of death ambiguous. Was he killed when Unit 02 crushed the entry plug? Was he already dead? I'm deliberately leaving these questions unanswered so that the readers can use their imaginations, because I think that makes Toji's plight a lot more terrifying for the readers to think about.

Just as well, in regards to both Bardiel and the Dummy System, I think there's an underlying primal fear that these two bring out. With the Dummy System and its evisceration of Unit 03, I think there's a disturbing, almost rape-like feel to it. The sensation of having one's body taken over against their will, of being forced to watch as their body does things beyond their control.

The Dummy System represents this horrifying idea of being completely helpless as one's body is taken over not being able to do anything about it. The same thing goes for Bardiel, as he takes over Unit 03 and strips Toji of control, while the Dummy System strips Asuka of control over her "body" Unit 02, and just like rape, the end result is something that scars the victim for life.

That's why I decided to listen to and recommend  _Infantile Dependence, Adult Dependency_  for the section where the Dummy System takes control. The track perfectly captures those feelings of horror and helplessness. I also recommend  _Wreckage And Rape_  in the alternate track listing as the sheer aggression in the second half of the track perfectly captures the feeling of terror and ferocity of someone, well... being raped. It evokes that sense of terror felt when one has lost all control, just as Asuka has lost control of her Eva because of the Dummy System as it tears Unit 03 to pieces, and it also captures the sheer aggression of Unit 02 as it performs its savage slaughter of the Angel.

Also, I'd love to know what you guys, the readers, think of my portrayal of Bardiel.

Anyway, please be sure to let me know what you thought of the episode in your reviews! They're always appreciated, no matter what you say in them!


	18. Asuka's Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grieving over the death of Toji and coping with her inevitable inability to continue piloting, Asuka must decide what road to take for her future.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

 _ **WARNING**_ : The following epsiode contains some... literal nightmare fuel, accompanied by medical terminology, for extra nausea.

Please note that this episode will focus mostly on emotional stuff between the pilots and NERV staff. This episode will also take place over the course of a week, as Asuka comes to grips with the death of Toji and how she is nearing the end of her ability to pilot an Eva. Most of this episode will be from Asuka's perspective, or at least it will focus on her.

Also, I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it, but I just learned recently that SEELE is pronounced 'ZEELA', like a drawn out version of God- _Zilla_ , so to speak. I have done a ton of English to German translation with various software for this story, and not once have I ever inquired as to the proper pronunciation of certain words. I feel very dumb for not doing this sooner.

Also, this episode contains many sections with characters crying. I would  _not_  recommend making a drinking game out of it, because anyone do does might die of alcohol poisoning before the end of the chapter.

Music I listened to while writing this included  _Neon Genesis Evangelion Original Soundtrack 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Trigun Original Soundtrack_  1 - 2 (1998) by Tsuneo Imahori,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu and Yoichi Murata and Masamichi Amano,  _The Land Before Time_  (1988) by James Horner (Don't laugh at this choice. The first Land Before Time is a fucking classic and contains one of the late James Horner's most beautiful scores), and  _The Howling_  (1981) by Pino Dinaggio.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites. Although for this episode and the following one, listening to the recommended music in order is highly recommended.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _The Sorrow of Losing The Object Of One's Dependence_ ,  _In The Depths Of Human Hearts_ ,  _Crime Of Innocence_ ,  _Hedgehog's Dilemma_ ,  _Fly Me To The Moon (Long Version)_  (performed by Claire),  _Fly Me To The Moon (TV Size)_  (performed by Claire).

Music From  _Trigun OST 1 - 2_  (1998):  _Scattered Rain_ ,  _Lost Planet_ ,  _Sandy Planet_.

Music From  _The Land Before Time_  (1988):  _Whispering Winds_  (this track is over 9 minutes long and it is beautiful).

Music From  _The Howling_  (1981):  _Transformation_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _F02 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Crime Of Innocence_  (The aftermath/Asuka's despair/Locker room),  **02**.  _Lost Planet_  (Melancholy pilots at school),  **03**.  _In The Depths Of Human Hearts_  (Gendo's meeting with SEELE),  **04**.  _The Sorrow Of Losing The Object Of One's Dependence_  (Gendo learns the truth about Rei),  **05**.  _Whispering Winds_  (00:00 - 01:30 Mana's apology, 01:31 - 04:45 Hospital visit, 04:46 - 09:03 Asuka and Kaji),  **06**.  _Transformation_  (Asuka's nightmare),  **07**.  _Scattered Rain_  (Rei's apology/Truth of the Dummy System),  **08**.  _Hedgehog's Dilemma_  (Melancholy dinner at home),  **09**.  _Sandy Planet_  (Asuka's decision/Asuka's Farewell).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**10**.  _F02 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 18: Asuka's Decision**

* * *

**NERV HQ, Sunday Evening, January 17, 2044**

Asuka Langley Sohryu watched as her fellow pilots were retrieved from their Evas. As soon as Mari exited her entry plug, she rushed over to Asuka's side, embracing her in a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Mari said to Asuka as she wrapped her arms around her. Asuka said nothing as silent tears streamed down her cheeks.

"He... he's gone," Asuka cried into Mari's chest. "He's gone, Mari! I... I couldn't save him," Asuka sobbed into Mari's plug suit. "Why!? I... I want him back! I want him back!" she continued as Mari brought a hand up to Asuka's back and began to gently rub up and down, trying to soothe her sister-in-arms.

"It's okay," Mari whispered to her.

"No it's not!" Asuka cried back. "I want my Toji! I want him back!" Asuka kept crying, shaking as the sobs wracked her body. Mari held Asuka tightly as she kept crying, while the technicians and medical staff entering the room did their best to politely ignore them once Mari sent a brief wave towards the approaching personnel.

Meanwhile, Rei was busy helping Shinji out of his entry plug. "Are you injured?" Rei asked Shinji as she held out a hand to him, which he gratefully accepted as she helped pull him out of his entry plug and down onto the catwalk. Shinji held a hand up to his face, wincing as he continued feeling the phantom pain of being stabbed in the eye.

"I... I don't know," Shinji said. "I... it feels like my eye is... it's there and it isn't there at the same time. It feels really weird, like I can't even focus on anything," Shinji said tiredly, feeling disorientation as he tried to walk, only to stumble. Rei quickly reached out to catch him and hold him upright before she slid an arm around his waist and pulled his left arm over her neck and shoulders, holding it by the wrist.

"I will walk you to the infirmary," Rei said before she noticed the numerous technicians and medical personnel standing by. She motioned for one of them to bring a gurney over so that she could lay Shinji onto it. "Make sure that-" " _I said don't touch me!_ "

Rei turned her head to look over at where Unit 04 had been parked, noticing Mana trudging past several technicians. The red-head quickly made her way to the corridor that led to the pilots locker room, disappearing from sight as fast as possible. Rei frowned before she turned to look at Shinji, who was currently laying on the gurney.

"How are you feeling?" Rei asked Shinji with concern in her voice.

"I... I don't know. My head hurts, and... Rei, what happened? What happened to Toji? I didn't hear anything from the rescue teams?" Shinji asked her.

Rei gulped as she felt a strange sensation in her chest. "Airman Suzuhara... is deceased," Rei said, that strange sensation now twisting into a horrible pain in her chest. She felt a stinging sensation around her eyes, and when she reached up to feel them, she realized that she was crying.

" _No_ ," Shinji whispered in denial. "He... he can't be dead," he pleaded. "Please, Rei... no," Shinji said with grim acceptance as he saw Rei's sorrowful expression.

"The Dummy System... destroyed his en...entry plug," Rei explained, choking up.

Shinji grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to force back the tears. "W-What about... M-Misato? And the others at Matsushiro?" Shinji asked Rei.

"I... I do not know anything about them," Rei replied simply. "We should hear from the rescue teams before the night is over, however. After I get cleaned up, I will inquire as to the status of the rescue operation at Matsushiro," Rei said before she gave Shinji's hand a gentle squeeze.

**The Pilots Locker Room, A Short Time Later...**

Mana stood under the water of the shower, her right hand outstretched and planted firmly against the wall of the shower. "Dammit. Dammit! Fuck!" she swore as she slammed her other fist into the wall, pulling back with a hiss as her knuckles hurt.

"I tried," Mana said to herself. "You did your best... but it wasn't enough," she told herself as she started to cry. "Suzuhara-san... I'm so sorry," Mana cried as she slumped down to the floor of the shower, resting on her knees while holding her head in her hands.

A few minutes later, she finally cleaned herself up and exited the shower, grabbing a towel and drying off before making her way to her locker to retrieve fresh clothes. She just finished dressing when the door slid open and Asuka and Mari walked into the room. Mana looked at Asuka with sorrowful eyes before glancing down at the floor.

"A-Asuka," Mana started as she looked back up at the girl, only to see a rage-filled face staring back at her, "I... I'm sorry."

Asuka broke free of Mari's grip and rushed over to Mana, grabbing her by the lapels of her shirt and slamming her against the locker with surprising strength. "You bitch! You told me you could save him! This is your fault! You said your plan would work!" Asuka screamed with tears flowing down her face, while Mana stared wide-eyed at the enraged red-head.

"I thought it would!" Mana shot back, tears in her eyes as well. "I really did!" Mana continued, grabbing Asuka's wrists and pulling her off. "I did everything I could to save him!" Mana continued. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, but I... I did the best I could!" Mana finished, before she took a series of deep breaths. "I tried! I really did," she added with a sob before she fell to her knees and leaned onto a bench, muffling her cries as she started up again.

"I'm sorry! I wish I could turn back time! I wish I could do it over and save him properly, but I can't!" Mana cried out as she lifted her head off of the bench and looked at Asuka, who stepped back and scowled at her, before that scowl softened as she saw the earnest sorrow in Mana's eyes. The girl truly regretted not being able to save Toji.

"Come on, Asuka. Let's get cleaned up," Mari said softly as she put an arm around Asuka and led her over to one of the showers, just as Rei entered the locker room. Rei looked around at the trio and inhaled through her nose as she took

"Oh... Sergeant Kirishima," Rei said with a nod of her head in acknowledgement. "I... Shinji is being taken to the infirmary for his injuries," Rei said.

"Wait... what injuries?" Mana asked her.

"His Eva was stabbed in the left eye during the battle, and while it seems to have begun healing on its own, Shinji has not shared a synchronized healing with the Eva. He... is suffering from phantom pains, leaving him disoriented and unable to move around properly. After I wash and change clothes, I will seek him out and keep him company until I am forced to leave his side," Rei said.

Mana nodded her head as she stood up, sniffling a bit. "A-Ayanami... w-what about... Misato and the others? Have you heard about anyone from Mat-Matsushiro?" Mana asked her.

"No. I have not heard any news regarding survivors at this time. I will speak with Commander Ikari about receiving information as soon as I can. However, I wish to get cleaned up first and... Sergeant Kirishima?" Rei asked nervously.

"Yeah?" Mana responded.

"Since I will be staying here tonight with Shinji until I am told otherwise... will you please check on Pen-Pen at the apartment? I will give you my spare key if you require it," Rei asked.

"Yeah. S-Sure. I... I'll do that. Um... tell Ikari-kun I'm glad he's okay when you see him," Mana requested. Rei nodded her head.

"I will do that," Rei said gladly.

"And Ayanami... are you going to school tomorrow?" Mana asked her.

Rei blinked in surprise at the question. "I... I do not know. I am physically fine, but... I do not wish to leave Shinji alone for very long. I... do not know at this time. Are  _you_  planning to attend school tomorrow?" Rei asked in return.

"Maybe. I mean... someone's gonna have to tell Aida-kun and Horaki-san and the others about... Suzuahara-san's... p-permanent absence," Mana said mournfully.

"I-I'll do it," Asuka said, holding back tears as she looked over at Rei.

 _SYSTEM MODEL: AYANAMI VERSION 2.0 - UPDATED 17:25:19, JANUARY 09, 2044_ , Asuka thought to herself as she remembered the words on the screen of her entry plug.  _AYANAMI VERSION 2.0... AYANAMI VERSION 2.0... AYANAMI... 2.0..._

"Are you sure?" Mari asked her worriedly.

"I... I... I have to," Asuka said as she inhaled deeply and gulped. "Sakura... deserves to know, and Toji's dad... mein gott... he's one of the Eva repair technicians," Asuka gasped in horror. "He... he probably already knows," she added with a pained expression on her face.

Mari let out a sigh before shaking her head. "Look, Asuka... why don't you stay home tomorrow? I'll go to school and let everyone know what's going on. I'm the only one who doesn't need an infirmary checkup anyway," Mari said as she shot a glance at Rei and Mana.

"N-No. I-" "Need to stay home and rest," Mari said. "Look, Sis, you're in no condition to push yourself into facing everyone at school. I  _am_ ," Mari said firmly. "Rei... you can stay here tomorrow and keep tabs on Shinji," Mari said. "Mana... I guess you'll be going to school tomorrow, won't you?" Mari asked her.

"I was planning on it... sort of," Mana said.

"Okay then. Asuka, you'll stay home tomorrow, and Mana and I will go to school and... inform everyone. Rei... you already know what you're doing," Mari said.

"I was planning to stay by Shinji's side until he recovered regardless of your own decision," Rei stated firmly.

"Well... that's certainly dedication," Mari said.

"Shinji is... important to me," Rei said. "I... I do not wish to lose him as Lieutenant Sohryu has lost Airman Suzuhara." Everyone nodded their heads in understanding.

* * *

**The Pilots Apartment Complex, The Kaji/Sohryu/Makinami Apartment, Later That Evening...**

Sitting down on the couch, Asuka sluggishly picked up the remote and turned on the TV. She quickly found a news channel and regretted turning the damn thing on as she began watching coverage of the rescue efforts in Ueda. " _... which brings that total up to four thousand, one hundred and eighty-six casualties so far. Rescue workers are still sifting through the rubble of multiple structures as more bodies are being found_ ," the news anchor reported.

Asuka quickly turned off the TV as Mari exited the bathroom, while Kaji cooked something for her in the kitchen. Leaning back against the couch, Asuka sighed tiredly as she gazed up at the ceiling. She tilted her head to glance over at Kaji in the kitchen.

"Kaji?" Asuka asked, catching the man's attention. Kaji turned around and looked at her with a soft expression on his face. "Do you think... you can drive me to... the Suzuhara's residence tomorrow? I... I want to talk to Sakura," Asuka said.

Kaji slowly nodded his head while exhaling through his nose. "Okay," he said softly. "I can do that. But... are you sure you don't want to just... stay home and rest?" he asked her with concern in his voice.

"I... I do't know what I want to do right now. I just... I miss him," Asuka replied, her face scrunching up as the pain in her heart began to return. Kaji stopped what he was doing and walked over to the couch, quickly sitting down next to Asuka and pulling her into a hug.

"Just let it out," he said softly as he rubbed his hand up and down her back. Asuka started to cry into his shirt. Her sobs began wracking her body once more, this time without restraint as her surrogate father held her in his arms, gently rocking her back and forth as she let out all of her sorrow, rage, and anguish. After several minutes passed, Asuka eventually cried herself to sleep, prompting Kaji to look up at Mari, who had been leaning against the wall the entire time, a thoughtful and somber expression written across her face as she looked at Kaji.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 High School, Monday Morning, January 18, 2044**

Walking through the hallways of the school, Kensuke Aida slowly approached his homeroom, pausing as he saw Mana, Mari and Hikari standing in the doorway. The three girls were talking to each other, all with somber expressions on their faces, while Hikari had eyes wide in shock and horror as she processed what the two pilots were saying. Last night, Kensuke's dad had come home late, but unlike previous nights, he hadn't told his son about what had happened at work.

After most battles against the Angels, Kensuke's dad would tell his son about the repair work that he and the other technicians would perform on the cyborgs. Last night had been different. There had been a somber air about his father as he'd returned home.

Walking up to the three females, Kensuke glanced into the classroom, seeing no signs of Shinji, Rei, Asuka, or even Toji. Remembering his father's somber mood the previous night, as well as the expressions on the three girls' faces, Kensuke realized that someone must have been badly injured... or worse. He'd seen the news coverage of the destruction of Ueda, but he knew little else about the battle with the out of control Evangelion.

He knew that Toji had been assigned to be its pilot. Therefore, something could have happened to Toji. But he also knew that all five of the other Evas had been sortied, thanks to what little information his father had been willing to give him. Shinji, Rei, and Asuka were missing, meaning that something could have happened to one or more of  _them_. No matter who was missing, something bad had happened, of that much Kensuke was sure.

Walking up to the three, Kensuke cleared his throat. "Um... hey guys. What's going on?" he asked the two pilots. Hikari looked at him with a stricken expression, while Mana and Mari both had downcast looks on their faces.

"We'll... we'll tell you and everyone else after class starts. It's... not something we want to have to say more times than we need to," Mana said tiredly. Kensuke slowly nodded his head in understanding. Something bad had  _definitely_  happened.

Kensuke slowly walked over to his seat and grabbed a school-issue laptop while also retrieving his homework. He needed something to do or think about until he finally learned what was going on. Slowly, the rush of students filled the classroom. Kensuke looked up as Makoto Higurashi entered the classroom and sat down, followed by Satsuki Minazawa and Yuna Gondo, both of whom were gossiping about something, with Mayumi Yamagishi not too far behind.

Ichiro Mafune entered next and took his seat behind Kensuke. Yoko Wakaba and Senna Makubi were next, followed shortly after by Tatsuya Goto and Kiyone Hagino. Entering the classroom after them were Inoue Shiraishi and Ayane Yamada. After the last couple of students entered the room and sat down, Hikari Horaki cleared her throat as Mari and Mana whispered to each other.

"Rise. Bow. Be seated," Hikari said, with the class doing just that as the teacher entered the room and sat down. Hikari and the two pilots quickly walked over to him and spoke quietly, before a grave look befell his face and he slowly nodded his head. Hikari then walked over to the front of the class while Mari and Mana took their seats.

"Um... fellow classmates. As some of you have noticed, we are missing a few of our fellow students. You may also have heard about the incident in Ueda last night. I am... presently speaking, three of our fellow students will be temporarily absent while recovering from the incident. Those three are Ikari Shinji, Ayanami Rei, and Sohryu Asuka. As for... um, as for..." Hikari found herself having difficulty proceeding, until Mana stood up and made her way to the front of the room.

"If I may?" Mana asked her politely. Hikari reluctantly nodded her head. Mana then turned to face the rest of the class. "There is no easy way to say this, but... at seventeen hundred hours yesterday evening... Airman Suzuhara Toji was declared deceased by rescue workers," Mana said.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Mana with curious and wide-eyed expressions, not quite processing what they'd just been told. Kensuke's breath hitched and he blinked rapidly in confusion. "W-What?" Kensuke finally asked with a gulp.

"I said... Suzuhara Toji... is  _dead_ ," Mana reiterated with a somber expression. The room fell completely silent. "Funeral services are being planned out as we speak, and more information will be made available in the coming days. Um... I don't have anything more to say," Mana said, feeling overwhelmed despite not being asked any questions.

"W-Wait a minute... what do you mean he's dead?" Kensuke asked, not wanting to believe what he'd just heard.

"He's dead, Aida-kun. I'm sorry, but... I'm not gonna sugar-coat it," Mana said, inhaling with a shudder. "Now... if you'll excuse me," she said as she walked over to her desk and sat down quietly, before burying her face in her arms.

Kensuke felt the entire momentum of the world shift at that moment. Finally, everything that his friends had been telling him about piloting the Evas came to the forefront of his mind. All of their negative feelings towards piloting finally clicked into place for Kensuke. Reality came crashing down on his fantasies, and it the feeling in his chest was that of pain. Frowning, Kensuke closed his laptop and simply stared at the lid in silence as he began coming to terms with the fact that he would never see or speak to Toji ever again.

All around the room, everyone began processing the news in their own way. Tatsuya Goto stared at his desk uncomfortably before glancing over at Toji's empty seat. Satsuki Minazawa started to whimper at the realization that one of her classmates was dead, while Kiyone Hagino simply stared at her desk with a downcast expression. Makoto Higurashi glanced at Toji's desk before looking away with a brief sigh and shake of his head.

**Later, At Lunch...**

Sitting outside under the shade of a tree, Kensuke, Mari, Mana, Hikari, and Mayumi all ate quietly. The silence was melancholy, and Kensuke found himself not having much of an appetite. Mana seemed to be forcing herself to eat her lunch, while Mari simply ate her food as quickly as possible while staring at the grass. Hikari didn't seem to have much of an appetite, not did Mayumi.

Finally, Kensuke could take it no longer. "What happened?" he finally asked, looking at Mana. "Kirishima-kun, please tell me. What happened?" Kensuke asked her.

Mana looked up at Kensuke with sad eyes as she chewed her food before swallowing it. "Toji died. End of story," Mana said tersely.

"No, it isn't! I saw the report on Ueda! What happened to the Eva?" Kensuke asked. The news report had said that the Eva had gone out of control for unknown reasons, but Kensuke knew there was something more to it than that. Jet Alone had been seen near the edge of the city while the Defense Force had begun organizing evacuations for people.

Mana let out a sigh. "We fought an Angel. The Angel took control of Toji's Eva... and we failed to save him," Mana said with a dour expression.

"We... we tried everything we could, but... it was smarter than we expected. It caught us off-guard, and Toji paid the price for it. The last Eva standing had to use lethal force to take the Angel down, and Toji's entry plug... was destroyed in the process. That's all I can say," Mana said.

"So... who was the last Eva standing?" Kensuke asked after a minute.

A haunted expression came over Mana's face, followed by a grimace. "It was... Unit Two," she admitted. Kensuke's eyes widened in disbelief.

"U-Unit... Two? But I thought Asuka wasn't allowed to pilot anymore since she's... pregnant," Kensuke responded.

"We needed every available resource to fight this one. That meant putting Sohryu-san in the entry plug again," Mana said somberly.

"You mean Asuka was... She... she... oh god," Kensuke said, his heart clenching at the thought of Asuka accidentally killing Toji to stop the Angel. "How's she... holding up? You said she was recovering from the incident. Is she hurt? Did something happen to the... fetus?" Kensuke asked.

"No... she wasn't physically hurt, thanks to the automated-never mind," Mana said. "That's classified information," she added hastily.

"My dad worked on the repair crew last night, Kirishima-kun. He wouldn't say much, but I gotta know what happened," Kensuke pleaded. Mana took a deep breath before finally looking Kensuke in the eyes.

"An experimental auto-pilot system was being installed in Unit Two to make up for Sohryu-san's absence until a new pilot can be found for the Eva," Mana explained. "The system... isn't ready for deployment yet, but it was used anyway as a last resort. Because of some bugs in its programming... it didn't stop destroying the Angel until  _every piece_  of the Eva had been ripped to shreds or crushed," Mana explained, remembering what Lieutenant Ibuki had told her the previous night before she had left HQ.

"The Eva... killed Toji," Kensuke said.

"Well, technically... we don't actually know when he died," Mana said.

"What do you mean?" Hikari asked her.

"According to the command staff at HQ, all contact was lost with the entry plug after the Angel took over, and that included all of the data from the health monitoring equipment as well. There was no way for them to communicate with Toji or see his vital signs once the Angel took over. We have... no idea if he was killed by the Angel when it took over or if he was still alive until Unit Two crushed the entry plug. The black box from the entry plug was completely unusable as well. The Angel fucked it up somehow when it took over the Eva," Mana elaborated.

"Before you ask, the time of death given by the rescue personnel was simply when they got the entry plug opened up," Mana said as she saw Kensuke open his mouth to speak again. "I'm sorry," Mana said softly. "That's all I know," she added.

The rest of the lunch period was quiet as the five students waited for the bell to ring.

* * *

**Gendo Ikari's Office, NERV HQ, Later That Day...**

Sitting at his desk with his hands postured in front of him as usual, while Fuyutsuki stood next to him, Gendo Ikari listened as the numbered monoliths that represented SEELE surrounded him in the otherwise dark room. "Gentlemen, I believe we should have Airman Nagisa sent our way in a timely manner," Gendo said. The monoliths remained silent for a minute, until SEELE 09 spoke.

" **We cannot do that yet, Ikari** ," SEELE 09 said.

Soon, the holographic image of Kiel Lorenz replaced the monolith of SEELE 01. " **He is correct. Nagisa is still needed here in Germany for a brief while longer. When we feel that Nagisa has completed his required tasks, we will send him your way to pilot Unit Two** ," Kiel said.

Soon, SEELE 08 spoke up. " **But that is not the most pressing issue here, Ikari. What of Unit One!? How could you allow the vassal of our dreams to incur such injury!? We need Unit One to remain intact for the scenario!** " SEELE 08 shrieked angrily.

"Gentlemen, with the development of Unit One's S-Two organ, it is already healing its wounds at an acceptable pace. I assure you, Unit One will be fully functional by the time of the next Angel's appearance," Gendo said calmly. "And in any case, I cannot control the actions of an Angel. The Thirteenth Angel proved to be much more intelligent than expected, and its behavior differed greatly from what was laid out in the scrolls," Gendo added.

" **It was said to be the Harbinger of Tragedy** ," SEELE 05 said. " **You should have anticipated the worst to occur** ," SEELE 05 added.

"I was not aware that the Angel would take over an Evangelion, gentlemen. It would seem that the the Dead Sea Scrolls are proving to be less accurate than we have expected," Gendo said, keeping his tone neutral.

" **You will watch your tongue, Ikari. The scrolls are not to be mocked or reinterpreted without our permission. You will do what we expect of you while using what we have given you** ," SEELE 09 stated sternly.

"Gentlemen, the Thirteenth Angel possessed an Evangelion. Had we not been able to stop it, the Angel would have surely breached the Geofront and entered Terminal Dogma," Gendo responded. "Had we been privy to more accurate information about its abilities, we could have potentially subdued it much earlier and with less damage to the other Evas, including Unit One," Gendo added.

" **Your role is to do what you are told, Ikari. You do not make demands of us** ," SEELE 09 said firmly.

"If we are ill prepared to thwart any of the Angels, Gentlemen, then our scenario will become forfeit as Lilith is compromised," Gendo stated. "You know that we cannot afford a breach into Terminal Dogma before the final Angel has been eliminated," he added firmly.

" **You are correct in that regard, Commander** ," Kiel said. " **However, it is still troubling that Unit One has been able to acquire its S-Two organ sooner than the scrolls predicted. While such an acquisition is necessary for Unit One to fulfill its purpose, the timing is still of great concern** ," Kiel continued.

"And what would you have me do?" Gendo asked them. "Should I remove the organ and wait for another one to appear?" he added, testing the waters.

" **No. Unit One's S-Two organ shall remain intact. However, we are concerned about Pilot Kirishima. We have gotten reports indicating that she is starting to stick her nose into places that it doesn't belong. Keep her in her place, or we'll put her in place our own way** ," Kiel warned him.

"I will do what I can, but if I move too drastically, things may spiral out of control. We cannot afford to remove her from the pilot roster just yet, Chairman. Until it is safe to silence her, I will give her a false trail to follow," Gendo said. Kiel's hologram nodded his head in approval.

" **Very well. You are dismissed, Ikari. The rest of us still have much to discuss. We will let you know when Pilot Nagisa is ready. Good bye** ," Kiel said before ending the conference. His hologram dissipated in the air, as did the holograms of the other monoliths, leaving the room in near darkness, until the lights returned to normal.

"They're planning something," Fuyutsuki said after a minute.

Gendo nodded his head. "They always are," he said in agreement.

"Yes, but as with you, they keep their plans secret until the last minute. It is a frustrating game we play with them," Fuyutsuki said.

Soon, the phone on Gendo's desk rang. "Yes?" Gendo asked as he picked up the phone. He nodded his head as he listened to the person on the other line. "Very well. I will be down there shortly," he said before placing the phone back in its holder. Gendo then stood up from his desk. "Professor, I have an important matter to attend to soon. Please keep things running smoothly until I return," Gendo said as he began walking to his door.

"Tell her I said 'hello'," Fuyutsuki said knowingly. Gendo paused before turning around to look at his friend.

"I will do that," Gendo said, nodding his head curtly, before he exited the room. Fuyutsuki then looked around the office with a curious expression.

"Wait... I have my own office. Why am I still in here?"

* * *

**NERV Medical Facility A-1, Inside The Geofront, A Short Time Later...**

Walking over to the door of the room where he was told to go, Gendo nodded at the nurse to open the door for him. The nurse then walked away to check on her other patients as Gendo walked inside the room of the infirmary. The person lying on the bed in the corner of the room looked over at him, her right arm in a sling with a cast over her shoulder as well. Her left foot was also in a cast.

"How are you feeling?" Gendo asked her as he took a seat in a chair next to the bed.

"Well, I've certainly felt better," she replied. "Gendo... I haven't been told much since I woke up. What happened to the Angel? What's become of Unit Three?" Ritsuko Akagi asked him.

"The Angel and Unit Three have both been destroyed," Gendo said simply. Ritsuko noticed a strange look in his eyes, one that she seldom saw the man display.

"At what cost?" Ritsuko asked him. He knew that she wasn't referring to money with that question.

"Airman Suzuhara... was confirmed deceased by the rescue team," Gendo said.

Ritsuko inhaled sharply, before glancing down at the blanket covering her midsection with a somber expression. "What happened?" she asked Gendo after a minute.

"All five remaining Evas were deployed to confront the Angel. The Angel managed to incapacitate all Evas except Unit Two during the confrontation. It displayed an unprecedented learning curve. By the time it reached Units One and Two, it had learned how to use the Evas' weapons against them," Gendo explained. "The Angel managed to incapacitate Unit One and almost destroyed Unit Two before we were forced to activate the Dummy System," Gendo said. Ritsuko's eyes widened at this news.

"No... Gendo, the Dummy System still needs to be field tested before being deployed in an actual combat scenario," Ritsuko said.

"It was the only option left to us," Gendo replied.

"So... the Eva accepted the Dummy then?" Ritsuko asked him.

"It did. And it tore Unit Three to pieces. We still don't know if Airman Suzuhara was still alive when his entry plug was destroyed or if he was already dead. We were unable to access the entry plug's internal systems. We were only able to attempt remote ejection and re-insertion of the plug," Gendo explained. "We made five attempts to eject it before realizing that our efforts would be in vain," he added.

"Gendo... when you sortied the Evas, was the Dummy System activated from the start, or was Unit Two waiting on standby until the other Evas had been taken out?" Ritsuko asked him.

"Lieutenant Sohryu was in the entry plug. We needed every single Eva to fight the Angel," Gendo said with a tone of regret in his voice.

"Lieutenant... then she witnessed the carnage first hand?" Ritsuko asked Gendo. Gendo simply nodded his head in response. Ritsuko scrunched her face in a frown as she inhaled and exhaled.

"Does she know that Airman Suzuhara is..."

"She knows. Inspector Kaji is remaining at their residence to monitor her. I am... going to prepare her transfer to the command center by the end of the week. I'll just need her to sign them and she can be trained for desk duty," Gendo said.

"Do you think she'll even  _want_  to work at NERV at all following this?" Ritsuko asked Gendo. He looked away briefly in thought, before looking back at Ritsuko with an uncertain expression on his face.

"I do not know," Gendo admitted. The pair remained silent for a brief bit, before Gendo inhaled and looked around the room. "So... out of curiosity, since we both decided a while back that we weren't going to keep secrets from each other, I have something important to ask you," Gendo said before pausing to look Ritsuko in the eyes.

"Ritsuko... why does Rei have a mole in the same location on her face as you do?" Gendo asked her.

Ritsuko let out a sigh of defeat. It was inevitable, she supposed, that Gendo would eventually take notice of something so blatantly obvious. "Well, if you must know, Gendo... when you salvaged Yui's remains from Unit One, something went wrong," Ritsuko said.

"I used every bit of the DNA you'd managed to retrieve, but... none of it would produce a viable embryo when combined with Lilith's DNA. None of the procedures I tried would work," Ritsuko admitted. "In the end, whatever process you had used to salvage Yui's DNA had degraded it to a degree that made it unusable," Ritsuko said with a sigh.

"You used someone else's DNA," Gendo said. Ritsuko nodded her head in affirmation. "It was  _your_  DNA," he said again. Once more, Ritsuko nodded her head. "But then... why does Rei resemble Yui?" Gendo asked Ritsuko curiously.

"As far as I can tell... it isn't so much that Rei resembles  _Yui_ , Gendo. Rather, it's  _Yui_  who resembled Lilith's human form," Ritsuko said. Gendo raised an eyebrow in completely justified confusion.

"I... do not understand," Gendo said for the first time in... a long time.

Ritsuko sighed. "Gendo... when you first gave me that assignment, I saw it as my chance to finally break free of my mother's shadow and stand on my own. I couldn't let myself fail. When I ran out of Yui's DNA, I began checking the MAGI for possible DNA combinations. Even though my mother and I were still working on the system, a large percentage of it was still capable of being utilized for various tasks," Ritsuko explained.

"Lilith's DNA had already been analyzed and archived in the MAGI, as had my own DNA, and that of my mother, Yui, and even Sohryu's mother. Hell, your own DNA was analyzed and archived in the system as well. So... I ran some simulations one day. I had the MAGI perform 3D model simulations with algorithms based on the merging of DNA from Lilith and the DNA of ourselves, all separately of course. In the end... all of them had the same general physical appearance, no matter whose DNA was mixed with Lilith's, or in whatever percentage," Ritsuko explained.

Gendo slowly nodded his head as he processed this information. "So... discovering that Lilith's DNA would override certain portions of the human donor's DNA, I realized that I could use anybody's DNA and you wouldn't know the difference. Granted, every Lilith hybrid would feature a few differences from one another depending on the DNA used, but they all retained the same facial structure and body proportions. Whether it was Yui's DNA or my mother's, the resulting embryo would eventually grow into the blue-haired girl we all know today," Ritsuko said.

"Basically... Rei looks like Lilith, who Yui resembled by sheer coincidence," Ritsuko said.

Gendo looked at the floor as a mixture of emotions ran through him. "I see. So then... Yui has forever remained out of my reach since the day she was absorbed," Gendo said to himself with a defeated sigh.

"I'm sorry," Ritsuko said with a hint of regret in her voice. "I... I know you've always seen Rei as a replacement for your wife, or at least as the last remnants of her. I wanted to tell you sooner, actually. In fact... the day that Rei One died, I had been planning on telling you the truth, thinking that you would eventually find out after inspecting the MAGI and seeing my various records of experiments involving Lilith's DNA," Ritsuko said.

"But... as fate would have it... after my mother strangled Rei One in a violent drunken rage... I didn't have the heart to tell you anymore. You were... Gendo, when we found their bodies, you were devastated. I saw you change that day. You went from a man with a glimmer of hope still in his heart to a... cold and empty shell," Ritsuko said somberly.

Gendo nodded his head in agreement. He remembered that day very well. He remembered celebrating the completion of the MAGI with Ritsuko, Naoko, and Rei-I. He remembered taking a walk with Ritsuko through the halls of the not-quite finished HQ as he mentally began planning on bringing his son back to live with him.

He also remembered not caring about Rei-I hearing his and Ritsuko's rather negative remarks and less than pleasant jokes about Naoko Akagi. He had always known that Naoko had been carrying a torch for him, even while Yui was still alive. He had found Naoko's advances annoying at the time, especially after Yui's absorption, but with Rei-I at his side, he'd been able to feel as though a part of her was still with him in some form. Sure, Rei was a child, and Gendo was fortunately not fucked up enough in the head to treat her as anything  _but_  a child, but the fact that he thought that he still had a part of Yui with him had been enough to soothe the pain of losing his wife. But then... after finding the body of Rei-I, with her neck snapped and a wide-eyed, terrified expression on her face, Gendo had felt that horrible pain all over again. It had hardened him even further, and it had made him forget all about any plans of reuniting with his son until years later, even then under completely difference circumstances than his original plans.

"I'm sorry, Gendo. I... I just couldn't stand to break your heart even further," Ritsuko said as she rested against her bedside with a mournful expression on her face.

"So... Rei is your clone, not Yui's," Gendo finally said in acceptance.

"Y-Yes. And since she isn't a whole clone, being partially derived from Lilith and my DNA, much like how a child is derived from the DNA of two parents, she could be considered... my daughter," Ritsuko said, looking Gendo in the eyes. "You weren't the only one devastated by Rei One's death," Ritsuko said, before letting out a snort.

"You know what's kind of funny?" Ritsuko asked Gendo as something came to mind.

"No. Not really," Gendo said with a frown. "But, please, go ahead and tell me anyway," he added gruffly.

"Well, it's just... despite being present in Rei's life all these years, I've never once told her that I'm her mother... or that I even care about her at all. I've never once told her that I love her, no matter how many times I've wanted to do so. And the do you know worst part? I've seen the pictures and camera footage from Misato's phone showing my little girl growing up under the care of another woman," Ritsuko said.

"Rei-Two has done more growing up while under the care of a  _childish slob_  than she ever has around either of us  _serious adults_ ," Ritsuko said as she barked out a bitter laugh. "It's a cruel irony, isn't it?" Ritsuko asked Gendo.

"Hm. It certainly is," Gendo said in agreement. "And after all this time... I truly have nothing left of my wife," Gendo said forlornly.

"That isn't true," Ritsuko said to him. Gendo glanced up at her curiously. "You still have Shinji," she clarified. Gendo looked away and down at the floor, feeling himself fill up with shame, regret, frustration, and even anger, both at Ritsuko for lying to him about Rei and at himself for how he had spent the past decade neglecting his son.

"We're both terrible people, aren't we?" Gendo asked with a mirthless chuckle.

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at him, before silently nodding her head in agreement. "That we are," she said. "I guess we really do make quite a pair in that regard," Ritsuko said, causing Gendo to snort in response. He then let out a sigh through his nostrils before giving Ritsuko a small smile.

"When you are discharged, I'll be back to pick you up. You'll be staying with me until you have fully recovered from your injuries," Gendo said as he stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I have a... son to... inspect?" Gendo said, slightly unsure of his intentions.

"Visit," Ritsuko corrected him.

"Yes. I have a son to  _visit_ ," Gendo said, deciding that it was better late than never to at least  _try_  making up for lost time, even if his son would probably not even care by this point. "I will keep Rei's true origins secret for now. My lips will be sealed. However, I expect  _you_  to tell her the truth at some point," Gendo added before he left the room.

* * *

**NERV Medical Facility A-1, Inside The Geofront, Tuesday Morning, January 19, 2044**

Opening her eyes, Misato Katsuragi blinked before quickly shutting them. She wanted to open her mouth and yell at someone to turn off the lights, but she currently had a breathing apparatus attached to her face. She glanced around the room, noticing how her left arm was in a sling, while her right arm had only a few bandages on it. Her legs, on the other hand, were both feeling numb. She tried to lift one of them, only to feel pain shoot through her before she halted her attempt.

She then glanced down at her bandaged torso, before finally noticing the IV drip inserted into a bare spot on her left arm. Using her still-free right hand, she carefully lifted it up, wincing slightly, before grabbing a hand buzzer to call a nurse.  _Please, someone turn off these fucking lights! They're too bright! I need darkness! Someone, turn 'em off! Rrraarrrrgh! Dammit_ , Misato thought to herself a she waited for a nurse to arrive.

When a nurse finally did arrive, she walked over to Misato's bed and began checking the monitoring equipment. Misato rolled her eyes as the nurse carefully removed the breathing apparatus from her face. "Finally!" Misato exclaimed.

"How are you feeling?" the nurse asked her as she grabbed a clipboard.

"I feel terrible. Can you turn off the lights? I'd like to get some sleep," Misato replied.

The nurse nodded her head before heading over to the light switch. "I'll let Doctor Watarase know that you're conscious," the nurse said before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. Misato rested her head against her pillow and sighed.

"Aw shit! I forgot to ask about Ritsuko," Misato said in frustration.  _Oh well. I can always ask about her when the doctor gets here_ , she thought to herself before she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

**Thirty Minutes Later...**

"...along with three broken ribs, a fractured collar bone, a twisted ankle, and a popped left shoulder, which we were able to get back into place rather easily. Your legs will require some physical therapy to keep them in shape while they heal. All things considered, you're lucky to be alive, Major Katsuragi," Doctor Watarase said as he looked up from his clipboard.

Misato let out a sigh. "So... I'll still be able to walk again, right?" she asked him. He nodded his head in response, before the door opened and Commander Ikari stepped into the room. "Hey, Commander... what's up?" Misato asked him.

"Well... Doctor Akagi will be discharged this afternoon," Gendo said. He then motioned for Watarase to hand him the clipboard. Taking the clipboard, Gendo looked at the list of injuries Misato had accumulated. "Impressive," he said before handing the clipboard back to Watarase.

"Even after you are discharged, you will need assistance moving around," Gendo said to Misato as he walked over to her bed. "I'm sure Corporals Ikari and Ayanami will be able to help you at home until you've healed," he said. Misato nodded her head in agreement.

"If it's okay with you, sir... I'd like to go back to work as soon as I get out of here. Also... what happened to Unit Three? What happened to the Angel?" Misato asked him. Gendo turned and made a dismissive gesture toward Doctor Watarase, who quickly left the room.

"After we had exhausted all other resources, we were forced to use the Dummy System in Unit Two. The Eva tore the Angel to pieces, killing it," Gendo said. Misato nodded her head.

"The... Dummy System? I think Rits mentioned that to me once. She said it's supposed to be some kind of autopilot for the Evas," Misato said.

"Yes. However... it still has many faults in its programming," Gendo said.

"What about Toji? Is he okay? Did the others get him out of the entry plug?" Misato asked Gendo.

"Major... Airman Suzuhara did not survive," Gendo said. Misato's mouth dropped and a look of disbelief spread over her face.

"No. Please, no," Misato pleaded.

"I am sorry, Major. The funeral will be held in a couple of weeks," Gendo said.

Misato's face scrunched up as she tried to fight back the tears. "No. Dammit, no!" she cried. "W-What about... Asuka? How... does she know yet?" Misato asked him.

Gendo inhaled before he told Misato the truth.

"No! No!" Misato cried as she brought her right hand up to her face to wipe away her tears. "C-Commander? I... I need to be alone. Please, just... I'd really like to be alone right now," Misato croaked out.

"Very well," Gendo said as he nodded his head in understanding. "I will inform the surviving pilots of your recovery this afternoon. Perhaps seeing them will lift your spirits," Gendo said as he exited the room, before sending Doctor Watarase back inside to finish his examination.

* * *

**Later That Afternoon...**

Standing in an elevator as they made their way to the floor where Misato was recovering, Mana looked at Asuka. "Um... hey, Sohryu-san? I... I just wanted to say... I'm sorry," Mana said softly, but still loud enough for Asuka to hear her. "It really was my fault. I... I should have planned better," Mana said as she started to choke up.

"W-What are you talking about?" Asuka asked her, before realization settled in.

"If I had distributed the weapons differently, or... maybe if I'd had Makinami and myself both fire the Bakelite rounds at the Angel simultaneously, instead of just having one person do it, then... then maybe we could've gotten the entry plug in time," Mana choked out as tears began to fall.

Asuka looked at Mana with a surprised expression. "I... I asked you to let me take charge, and I still failed," Mana said as he tried to force back a sob. "S-Suzhara-san's life depended on us... and I failed him," Mana said, her voice cracking. "You were right, Sohryu. It  _was_  my fault. And when I said I did my best? I was wrong," Mana continued.

"I didn't do my best," Mana sobbed. "I could have done  _better_. I  _should_  have done better!" she let out as her body started to shake. "You have every right to hate me," Mana choked out as she looked at Asuka, who was staring at her mournfully. "I promised to save Suzuhara-san's life... and I  _failed_ ," she said before she fell to her knees and held her head in her hands as she began to sob.

"I failed you! I failed Suzuhara! I failed Suzuhara's family! I failed  _everyone!_ " Mana sobbed remorsefully. Asuka walked over to Mana and knelt down beside her to put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kirishima... I... I don't hate you," Asuka said softly. Mana looked up at her in confusion. "I... I blamed you for Toji's death because... it made me feel better at the time. I just... wanted someone to blame, to make the pain easier to deal with. I'd hoped... that maybe blaming someone else would make the pain go away," Asuka admitted somberly.

"But... it didn't. I don't think anything will ever truly make it go away," Asuka said softly. "It still hurts, you know? Thinking about him. Yesterday, I spoke to Sakura at Toji's place..." Asuka said, trailing off.

"Didn't go too well, did it?" Mana asked her as she slowly stood up.

"No," Asuka said, shaking her head. "It didn't go well at all. I think she hates me now," Asuka said sadly.

Mana breathed through her nose as she listened to Asuka talk.

"It's too soon to just get over what happened," Asuka said regretfully. "I suppose... we all just need time to process this," Asuka said, just before the elevator came to a stop and the door opened with a ding. Stepping out into the hallway, Mana and Asuka slowly walked side-by-side towards the room where Misato was recovering.

"So... how bad do you think Misato's injuries are?" Asuka asked Mana as the passed by a nurse pushing a cart.

"Well... I don't know much. I heard that she was found... lying on a pile of bodies. Apparently, that's what broke her fall... and the rest of her body. I wasn't told much else," Mana said as they neared the room.

"What about Doctor Akagi?" Asuka asked her.

"I heard she was found hanging onto a girder or something. I wasn't able to get the best details, but apparently, when she grabbed whatever it was that saved her, she pulled an arm out of its socket," Mana said. Asuka winced in response.

"But, like I said, I don't know for sure," Mana added as they made their way over to a help desk to find a nurse to let them into Misato's room. Walking up to the desk, the two young women saw two nurses gossiping with one another. After getting their attention, one of the nurses walked alongside Mana and Asuka while leading them to the room holding Misato.

Pressing the buzzer, the door opened and the two young women stepped inside while the nurse quietly walked away once Asuka flashed her NERV ID at her before she looked over to her left and saw Misato resting on her bed. "Misato!" Asuka exclaimed before she ran over to the raven-haired woman's bedside. Misato smiled at her as she grabbed her right hand and gently squeezed it.

"Hey, Asuka," Misato said tiredly. "Asuka, I... I heard about... Toji," Misato said softly, a mournful gaze present in her eyes. "I... I'm so sorry," Misato said with sincerity, squeezing Asuka's hand in her own.

Asuka nodded her head before leaning forward to give Misato a very careful and gentle hug, squeezing her carefully, as though the woman were made of glass, before pulling away. "What happened?" Asuka asked Misato. "I mean at the test site. What... what happened?" she reiterated.

Misato glanced down at her covers as she recalled the incident. "Everything seemed to be going fine, until the Eva started giving us some strange readings. Toji... Toji had a sync rate of fifteen percent, but the Eva was behaving as though he'd hit the borderline," Misato recalled.

"And then we lost contact with the entry plug after a few minutes. We couldn't see Toji's vitals or communicate with him at all. Then... the Eva began to move on its own, and it... it tore itself out of its restraints, before the Angel Alarm went off, and it started destroying everything in sight. It pulled the walls apart and... Rits and I were climbing a staircase when we were pulled from the wall and sent tumbling down to the bottom," Misato said.

"I... I still don't know how either of us survived," she added. "It felt like Antarctica all over again," Misato said with a shudder. Asuka raised an eyebrow, while Mana adopted a thoughtful expression. "I... I never told either of you, did I?" Misato asked the two younger females.

"Wait... that's right! Your file mentioned that you were part of the Katsuragi expedition," Mana said. Misato nodded her head. "You were there when Second Impact occurred. You saw it first hand. You saw  _Adam_  first hand," Mana said.

"Yeah, I did. When Unit Three was taken over by the Thirteenth Angel... it was just like Adam's rampage in Antarctica," Misato said. "I felt like I was sixteen years old again, running for my life alongside my father," Misato added with a sigh. "But my father wasn't there this time," she added with a frown.

"I... I don't know how the Angel got into the Eva. How did we miss it?" Misato asked rhetorically. "It had been held in that facility for over a week. How did no one notice it?"

"What difference does it make now?" Asuka asked bitterly. "Toji's still dead... and-and nothing can change that," she choked out angrily.

"Asuka, with Toji... gone, are you still going to keep the baby?" Misato asked her. Asuka blinked in surprise a few times, before a thoughtful yet somber expression came over her face. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that," Misato apologized.

"No, don't be. But if you want to know... I'm going to keep it. The baby is all I have left of Toji now," Asuka said forlornly as she placed a hand on her still-flat stomach. She wouldn't start showing for at least another month or two if those pregnancy books she'd been reading lately were correct.

"If it's a boy, I'm going to name him Isamu," Asuka said with a far away look. "If it's a girl, though... I'll name her Karen. I like the way the name sounds," Asuka said as she turned to look at Mana and then over at Misato again.

"Asuka... has Toji's family been notified?" Misato asked her.

Asuka opened her mouth to speak, but Mana cut her off. "Yes. They've been informed of Suzuhara-san's... status. Suzuhara-san's father... is one of the repair techs for the Evas," Mana elaborated. Misato's eyes widened as she realized how Toji's father must have learned of his son's fate.

"Mana... let Asuka talk," Misato said. "Asuka... have you spoken to Toji's father and sister since the battle?" Misato asked the half-German girl.

"Y-Yes. Mister Suzuhara already knew, but Sakura... she was less understanding about the situation. I... I really don't want to talk about it," Asuka replied uncomfortably. Misato nodded her head in understanding.

"It's okay. But, Asuka... don't blame yourself for what happened," Misato said. "Sometimes... we just can't help what happens. Life sucks that way, I know, but... all we can really do is accept what's happened and try to move on, no matter how painful it is," Misato said, until another buzz sounded at the door.

Everyone turned their attention to the door as it opened to reveal Rei and Shinji. "Misato!" Shinji exclaimed happily as he walked forward, with Rei holding one of his arms as she walked alongside him to Misato's bed. "Misato, you're okay!" Shinji exclaimed as he leaned forward to hug the older woman.

"Well, not entirely okay, but I'm alive," Misato responded as she hugged Shinji back with her one good arm. After releasing the boy from her grip, Misato looked over at Rei. "Rei, come here," Misato said. Rei nodded hesitantly, before she too leaned forward and awkwardly gave Misato a careful hug.

 _This is... awkward. I feel... odd. This is not uncomfortable, yet this action seems out of place_ , Rei thought to herself as she hugged Misato. When Misato let go, Rei carefully stood back up and glanced around the room. Asuka and Mana were present, but Mari was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is Warrant Officer Makinami?" Rei asked curiously.

"She said that she'd be arriving later than the rest of us. She said she had to take care of something after school first," Asuka said. Rei nodded her head in response.

A minute later, a loud ruckus was heard outside the door of the room, with a loud thud as someone or something crashed into the wall, along with muffled voices, before the buzzer sounded and the door opened. A bewildered nurse was standing to the side as a disheveled Mari stepped into the room, carrying a package in her arms while panting for breath. "S-Sorry I'm late! I, uh, I had to get this for you, Misato!" Mari panted before she finally managed to catch her breath.

Walking over to Misato's bed, Mari handed the package to the older woman, who took it with one hand and laid it on her lap. "Thank you, Mari. I'll... open it when I have the time," Misato said, slightly overwhelmed. Mari frowned at her.

"Are you sure you don't want to open it now?" Mari asked Misato, slightly put off.

"Mari, I appreciate the gesture, but... oh, alright," Misato said, finally caving in. With a sigh, the injured woman slowly opened the package with one hand. "Hm," Misato murmured as she struggled a bit, before finally removing the last bit of wrapping to reveal a white box. Looking at the box curiously, Misato carefully lifted lid and set it to the side to reveal a set of pencils, a pen, a marker, and a notebook.

"Um... thank you?" Misato replied carefully as she looked at Mari. Mari nodded her head in appreciation while smiling at Misato.

"You're welcome! It's to give you something to do while you're laid up in here, so that you don't get bored," Mari explained. Misato nodded her head in understanding.

"Oh. Um, thank you... again," Misato said with a nod of appreciation. Mari then retrieved an unsealed envelope from her back pocket and gave it to Misato. "What's this?" Misato asked her as she opened up the envelope to find a get well letter. It had been signed by Mari, Kensuke Aida, Hikari Horaki, Mayumi Yamagishi (who Misato couldn't even remember), Asuka, Mana, Rei, Shinji, and even Pen-Pen.

"Aw, thank you," Misato said with a smile as she looked around at the pilots. The rest of the hospital visit went pleasantly, as Misato conversed with the surviving pilots and occasionally teased Shinji. During one conversation between Misato and Mana, Rei glanced over at Asuka and a slightly dour expression came over her face.

 _I... I really should tell her the truth. She deserves to know about the Dummy System and my connection to it. It is the least I can do to try atoning for what happened to Suzuhara_ , Rei thought to herself. She was taken out of her thoughts when the door to the room opened yet again and Ryoji Kaji stepped inside.

"Kaji?" Misato asked as the unshaven man stepped forward and stood next to Asuka.

"Yep. Glad to see you haven't suffered any memory loss," Kaji quipped in response. He then took a moment to study Misato's injuries, inspecting the casts and slings. "You know, Misato, I've warned you in the past about drinking and driving," Kaji said in a teasing tone. Misato merely scoffed at him in response, rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue.

"Anyway, I'd love to stay and chat,  _but_  I'm actually here for Asuka," Kaji said, prompting the red-head to glance at him in confusion. "Since you're here already, I think we should get a few tests done," Kaji said to her with a bit more serious tone.

"What do you mean?" Asuka asked him curiously.

"Some blood work and a few other things, just to make sure that the fetus is okay," Kaji explained. "You  _were_  attacked by the Angel, and you  _did_  receive some sympathetic injuries through your synchronization with the Eva. This is something that you'll need to do from now on if you ever get back in the Eva, Asuka. Hopefully, there won't be anything wrong, but if there  _is_  a problem, then it's best to find out early instead of later on after it's too late," he added.

Asuka slowly nodded her head in understanding. "Alright. I'll come back to visit you tomorrow, Misato," Asuka said as she glanced over at the raven-haired woman before she stood up from her seat and followed Kaji out the door.

"See you then," Misato replied, waving at Asuka before she left the room.

Rei looked at the door briefly, before returning her attention to Misato.  _Tomorrow, or the day after. I will tell Asuka the truth. She deserves to know, even if... even if telling her may cause her to hate me, she still deserves to know the truth_ , Rei thought to herself.

* * *

**The Kaji/Sohryu/Makinami Apartment, Later That Evening...**

"Well," Kaji said as he walked over to the living room with two bowls of teriyaki rice with chicken and vegetables in his hands, "I think you should be quite happy with what the doctor said earlier." Kaji placed the bowls of food down on the coffee table in front of the couch, where Asuka was sitting as she quietly watched TV.

Kaji looked at the television to see what his surrogate daughter was watching, only to frown as he saw that it was a news report on the devastation in Ueda. " _Food and other supplies have been sent to the survivors from the cities of Numozu and Ageo. Meanwhile, there still has not been any official word from NERV regarding the cause behind the actions of the rogue Evangelion on Sunday. The Prime Minister has announced that a hearing will be held next Tuesday with JSSDF officials and NERV staff to discuss the incident. Meanwhile..._ "

Kaji grabbed the remote and changed the channel. "Come on, Asuka. Don't focus on that," Kaji said to the silent and despondent girl on the couch. He sat down and pulled Asuka close to him in a hug. "Look, it'll be okay. What's done is done, and I know it isn't easy, but... all we can really do now is try to move on," Kaji said to her. "I'm sure Sakura will forgive you eventually, and I know that Mister Suzuhara doesn't hold what happened against you. Commander Ikari gave him a full disclosure on what happened," Kaji added.

"I know," Asuka croaked. "I know that, but it  _hurts right now_ ," Asuka continued. "It  _hurts_ , Dad. Knowing that I'll never see him again; knowing that our baby will never know its father in person... it  _hurts_ ," Asuka said with a shudder.

"I... I think about all of the things that we did together, and it makes me feel better for a moment, only for the pain to come back. I... I... I  _miss him_ , Dad. I want him back," Asuka cried into Kaji's shirt. "I miss him so much!" she cried.

Kaji simply circled his arms tighter around his daughter and let her cry. "I know, Asuka. I know it hurts. It's going to hurt for a while, but you'll survive. In time, you may even find the strength to open your heart up to someone else. I know that won't happen any time soon, but eventually you'll begin to heal," Kaji said softly.

"For now, though, just let it all out. Don't bottle it up; just get it all out," Kaji said as Asuka began crying even harder, her body beginning to shudder with every sob. She sobbed out Toji's name several times as she used Kaji's shirt to muffle her wails of sorrow and loss.

Every memory she thought of only made things worse. She thought of the time she and Toji first met, and how she had chased him through the mall with the intent to shove her foot up his ass. She remembered the multiple times that Toji had called her a devil or a witch during lunch or whenever she would get into a fight with him. She recalled all of the times that she'd helped him with his homework, and all of the moments they had spent together after they'd both confessed their feelings for one another.

It was easier to think about the times when they had been antagonistic towards one another, but those memories always led to Asuka remembering the last few months when they'd been dating, along with their last night together, when she had opened up about her past, making Toji only the third person she had ever told about her mother's insanity. She wanted to blame Shinji for being taken down so easily by the Angel. She wanted to blame Mana for her plan failing. She wanted to blame Mari for being incapacitated by the Angel. She wanted to blame Rei for not being able to stop the Angel. She wanted to blame herself for not being strong enough or fast enough to retrieve the entry plug. She wanted to blame Commander Ikari for ordering the activation of the Dummy System.

But every time she felt that desire to blame someone, she knew that it wouldn't be fair. Shinji had been hospitalized because of the injuries he'd shared with his Eva, while Rei had been unable to do anything because her Eva's power cable had been removed. Mari had been caught off-guard because the Angel was smarter than they'd expected. Commander Ikari had ordered the Dummy System's activation because the Angel had proven too powerful for Asuka to overcome on her own, and the Commander had no way of knowing that the Dummy System would be as savage as the Angel, at least as far as Asuka knew. Mana was the only one who could be remotely held responsible, but even then Mana had simply underestimated the Angel's intelligence when making her decisions because every Angel they had fought before had behaved rather simplistically.

Yes, Asuka knew that the Angels could learn, but none of the previous Angel's had ever displayed the level of intelligence or sadism that the Thirteenth had shown. The Angel was the one responsible for Toji's death by taking over the Eva in the first place. It had hidden itself far too deep in the Eva for Doctor Akagi to find it before the Eva's activation, and by then it was too late. While the Angel had indeed been killed, it hadn't been by Asuka's hands. It had been by the hands of a monster designed to save her own life. But the worst part was the fact that no one could figure out just when Toji had died. There was no way to know if he was still alive until Unit 02 crushed his entry plug or if he had already died when the Angel took over. And the possibility that Toji was a dead man the moment he got into the entry plug somehow made Asuka feel worse than everything else did, because that meant there had  _never_  been a chance to save him, and all she and the others had done was simply waste their time.

The very possibility made Asuka feel sick to her stomach, and it made her cry even harder. By the end of the night, the food had gone cold and Kaji's shirt had been soaked from the tears. Carefully, very carefully, Kaji stood up from the couch and carried Asuka over to her bedroom, where he set her down and pulled the covers over her before giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.

"I'll see you in the morning, Asuka. At least try to have some pleasant dreams," Kaji said softly as he stood up straight and walked out of the room before turning off the lights. He glanced at the sleeping silhouette of his surrogate daughter one last time before returning to the living room.

"Wait a minute... where the hell is Mari?" Kaji asked, before he checked his cell phone and remembered getting a text message from the girl. "Right. She's staying over at... that Aida kid's place. She'd better have protection," Kaji muttered protectively.  _I don't need TWO pregnant daughters_ , he thought to himself as he picked up one of the untouched bowls of food and took it to the kitchen to wrap it in plastic before placing it in the fridge. He then returned to the couch and began eating the other bowl.

"Hm. It's still good when cold," he said to himself after taking a bite. He then stood up and took the bowl over to the kitchen and placed it in the microwave. "Still, I prefer it warm," he said to himself.

Just then, he heard the door open, and he looked over to see Mari walking into the kitchen. "I thought you were staying over at Aida-san's house tonight?" Kaji asked his other surrogate daughter. Mari shook her head.

"No, I said I would be spending some time at  _Mana's_  apartment. I never said anything about Aida-kun," Mari replied with a raised eyebrow. "I think you need to get your hearing checked," she added as she made her way to the bathroom. Kaji simply shrugged his shoulders and waited for the microwave to finish heating his food.

* * *

**The Kaji/Sohryu/Makinami Apartment...**

Opening her eyes, Asuka yawned before slowly pushing the covers off of herself and getting out of bed. For some reason, she didn't feel nauseous, but she did feel hungry. Slowly making her way through the hallway, Asuka looked around for signs of Kaji and Mari. No one else was home.

Making her way into the kitchen, Asuka opened the fridge to find something to eat. After grabbing an apple from a fruit drawer, she took a bite and chewed it before swallowing. Looking around at the emptiness of the apartment, Asuka felt a slight sense of peace. There were no obnoxious noises bothering her, and the windows were covered by drapes, so the sunlight wouldn't bother her. The apartment felt rather peaceful and quiet.

Taking another bite of the apple, Asuka felt something odd in her stomach.  _I'm not that far along just yet_ , she thought to herself as she continued eating the apple. When she as finished, she threw the core into the trash can. As she turned around and made for the living room, a sharp pain shot through her, straight from her stomach.

"Aack!" Asuka cried out as she bent over and held her stomach, before another jolt of pain shot through her. "Oh  _fuck!_ " she cried out in pain, before another jolt surged forth. Asuka tumbled to the floor and grit her teeth in agony as the pain increased with every jolt, before she felt her belly begin to expand under her hands and shirt.

Looking down with wide eyes, Asuka watched as her belly expanded and grew in size while the pain kept spreading. "Oh god! W-What's hap-aaah!" she cried out. Her belly continued to swell as the pain shot through her body. She felt as though her insides were being twisted around inside of her as something grew and pushed them aside.

"Oh! Someone, make it stop!" Asuka cried out as she turned to lay on her back, scooting back up against the kitchen counter to watch her abdomen keep swelling, before she felt her birth canal begin making contractions. "Aaagh!" she cried out again, squeezing her eyes shut as the pain increased.

"W- _Why!?_ " Asuka cried in horror and agony as she felt something large inside of her trying to push its way out of her body. She flailed her arms as she tried to grab something, anything at all, to help her with this horrific birth, before eventually grabbing her swollen stomach and digging into her shirt. "K-Kaji! M-Mari! T-Toji!" Asuka cried, before remembering that Toji was dead.

"S-Someone! Please, help me!" Asuka pleaded and begged as she saw her body stretching with every move made by the thing inside of her. She felt something snap inside of her, as blood began pouring out onto the floor. "HHnnnnnngggg!" Asuka whined as the pain continued.

"Ple~ease!" she begged as she felt the thing moving through her birth canal, watching as something red began to push its way out of her uterus. It was veiny and shiny, like a blood-covered placenta. The placenta began to pulsate as it kept pushing its way out of her uterus, sending jolts of pain through Asuka's body with every movement.

"Please! Someone, help me!" Asuka cried out. Soon, the object finally pushed its way out of her body with a slick wet pop, before it splashed onto the blood-covered floor. Asuka felt a sense of relief as the thing was finally out of her body, aside from the umbilical cord attached to it.

Staring at the object, Asuka's eyes widened as it continued to pulsate, before it began stretching as something inside of it moved around, until a red limb popped out. It was a five-fingered hand with dull claws. The hand grabbed the rest of the wrapping and began to pull it off of itself, revealing a miniature Unit 02, only instead of a shiny armor plating, its body was fleshy.

It didn't resemble the true Eva underneath the armor, but instead resembled the armored beast, only with the armor being soft and fleshy. The four-eyed abomination let out an infantile squeal as it opened its mouth and looked around the kitchen, before it stood up on its hind legs, its toes spreading out onto the floor. The creature looked at Asuka, who stared at it wide-eyed in horror.

Letting out a squeal, the creature flashed its teeth, before slowly lowering itself onto all fours and crawling towards Asuka. Asuka held her hands up defensively, whimpering and muttering for the thing to go away. The fleshy Unit 02 began to hiss at her, before slowly growing in size, eventually reaching Asuka's own height as it let out a series of pained hisses through the growth process, with cracks and groans being heard as limbs expanded and bones grew faster than normal.

The 3-meter tall Eva stood up on its hind legs and looked down at Asuka, who whimpered in fear at the sight of the beast towering over her. Its four eyes glowed an eerie green color, and drool dripped from its mouth. It crouched down slightly, before it reached out with its right arm and grabbed its mother by the throat, lifting her up to inspect her.

"No, please! Please, no! No! No!" Asuka whimpered in fear as the creature opened its mouth and licked its lips. It then tilted its head and lunged forward, biting down around Asuka's face.

* * *

**The Kaji/Sohryu/Makinami Apartment, Wednesday Morning, January 19, 2044**

"Asuka? Asuka!" Mari exclaimed as she tried to wake the thrashing girl in her bed. "Asuka, wake up!" Mari insisted, before Asuka's eyes finally snapped open, darting around the room in fear before she saw Mari's face.

"M-Mari!" Asuka cried before she latched her arms around her sister-in-arms and held on while shuddering and crying. Mari simply wrapped her arms around Asuka and hugged her as she cried into her shirt. She shuddered with each sob, but unlike the sobs she'd let out the previous night, these sobs weren't born from mere sorrow. They were something else. They were born from fear and stress, and Mari knew exactly what that meant.

Asuka had had a nightmare.

"Shh, it's okay," Mari said as she began rubbing one hand up and down Asuka's back to calm her as she cried into her shirt. "Whatever scared you isn't here. It's okay. You're safe now," Mari said to the whimpering 18-year old. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere," Mari said softly as Asuka cried into her shoulder.

Mari simply held her sister-in-arms and slowly rocked her back and forth to calm her down.

* * *

**The Kaji/Sohryu/Makinami Apartment, Later That Afternoon...**

Lying on the couch, Asuka sighed as she watched one of the movies that Mana had allowed her to borrow while staying home from school. It was an action movie from the 1990's. Mana had claimed it to be one of her favorites.

" _So, who are you? Are you some kind of special forces guy or something?_ " a blonde girl asked the guy in the green tank-top.

Asuka sighed as she watched the scene play out.

" _Nah, I'm just a cook_ ," the man responded.

" _A cook?_ " the girl asked incredulously, prompting Asuka to snicker.

" _Just a lowly, lowly cook_ ," the man reiterated, gesticulating with one hand for emphasis.

" _Oh god, we're gonna die_ ," the blonde girl whined, prompting Asuka to snicker again.

Soon, Asuka heard the doorbell ring, so she paused the movie. Getting up from the couch, Asuka walked over through the kitchen to the front door, opening it to see Rei standing in the hallway. "Rei?" Asuka asked the blue-haired girl.

"Lieutenant Sohryu... I... I wish to speak with you. It is... important," Rei said nervously, which was a first for Asuka. She'd never heard Rei seem nervous about  _anything_.

"Okay," Asuka said curiously before gesturing for Rei to step inside. Closing the door behind them, Asuka paused as Rei took off her shoes before walking through the entry hall into the kitchen. After grabbing some water for both of them, Asuka led Rei into the living room where they both sat down on the couch. "So... what do you want to talk about?" Asuka asked Rei.

"It is... about the Dummy System," Rei said as she looked Asuka in the eyes.

 _SYSTEM MODEL: AYANAMI VERSION 2.0_ , Asuka remembered seeing on the main screen.

"The Dummy System," Asuka said with distaste.

"Y-Yes. Sohryu, when the system took over, you saw a series of text at the startup, did you not?" Rei asked her.

Asuka nodded her head in confirmation. "Yeah. It said Ayanami Version Two-point-Zero. Is that what you're here to discuss?" Asuka asked her. Rei nodded her head.

"S-Sohryu... have you been informed of how the Dummy System works?" Rei asked her.

"Yeah. Lieutenant Ibuki said that it tricks the Eva into thinking that it's synchronizing with a real pilot by mimicking the thought patterns of a pilot," Asuka said.

"That is correct. Do you know how it does this?" Rei asked her in response. Asuka shook her head.

"It does this by having the data copied from the mind of a pilot. That pilot... was me," Rei said with a hint of shame in her voice, which caught Asuka off-guard. "You see...  _I_  am the template for the Dummy System. It's behavior... is based on myself, on the inner workings of my own mind," Rei explain, her voice hitching slightly.

"When the Dummy System eviscerated Unit Three... that was my own behavior. That was a part of me that I keep locked away, hidden from everyone. It is a side of me that I fear," Rei said with a frown. "I... I killed Suzuhara," Rei choked out.

Asuka listened as the bluenette started to choke up. "It was me. Those were my thought patterns controlling the Eva. That was my inner beast letting loose," Rei continued. "Because... that's what I am deep down on the inside," she added with a shudder.

Asuka raised an eyebrow. "W-What do you mean?" she asked Rei in confusion. Rei inhaled as she fought back her tears.

"S-Sohryu... I do not know if you are aware of this, but... I am a clone. I am not the original Ayanami Rei," Rei said, causing Asuka's eyes to widen. She had always thought there was something odd about Rei. "The original Ayanami Rei, or Rei-One, was a human girl who died in an accident at a young age after coming to Tokyo Three," Rei explained.

"I am her clone. But... the cloning process was not perfect. It was faulty," Rei said, leaving out the details regarding Lilith due to Asuka not having clearance. "The original Ayanami Rei did not have blue hair and red eyes," Rei said, still unaware of the truth. "I am a faulty clone, Sohryu... and because I am the Dummy System, I-I am responsible for S-Suzuhara's death," Rei sobbed.

Asuka watched as the girl in front of her displayed a torrent of emotion that she'd never thought possible. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Rei sobbed as tears flowed down her cheeks. "It's my fault that it behaves the way it does! It's my fault that Suzuhara is dead!"

Feeling the beginnings of her maternal instincts taking form, Asuka leaned forward and brought Rei into a hug, surprising the blue-haired girl. "It... it isn't your fault," Asuka said as she held Rei close. Rei shook her head in response.

"Y-Yes it is!" Rei retorted, before Asuka pulled her closer. Rei did not understand why Asuka was trying to comfort her. However, she did not resist the red-head's actions either.

"No, it's  _not_ ," Asuka said again. "Lieutenant Ibuki told me that the Dummy System still needed work before they used it. It wasn't your fault," Asuka said. "It... it's the Angel's fault, not yours," she added. "You might be the template, but if it weren't for the Angel, the Dummy System wouldn't have been used so early," Asuka said in an effort to comfort Rei.

Rei offered no rebuttal as she simply let out her guilt and anguish, while Asuka simply held her in a tight embrace until she was done. An hour later, after Rei had fallen asleep on the couch, Asuka called Shinji to come over and take the girl to her own apartment. Much to Asuka's surprise, when she opened the door, Pen-Pen had joined the boy to help take their blue-haired companion back to the apartment. Granted, the penguin simply drank a can of Yebisu while Shinji did all of the work, but it was the thought behind the truly minimal effort that counted.

* * *

**The Kaji/Sohryu/Makinami Apartment, Friday Evening, January 22, 2044**

Sitting down at the dinner table, Asuka slowly picked at her food while Mari and Kaji ate their food in relative silence. There was a melancholy air about the dinner table as the small family ate their meal. At least, things were quiet until Kaji spoke up.

"So, um, I heard that Katsuragi-san was finally released from the hospital today," Kaji said after swallowing a bite of his food. Asuka nodded her head in response. "She'll, uh... be using a wheelchair for about a month or so, however. Lieutenant Hyuga's going to be driving her to and from work, from what I've heard," Kaji added before taking another bite of his meal.

Mari nodded her head as she swallowed a bite of her food. "Hyuga? He's the glasses guy, right?" Mari asked.

"We've been here over a year, and you still can't remember half of the staff's names?" Asuka asked Mari with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I rarely interact with the guy. The only bridge staff I actually know are Lieutenant Ibuki, Misato, and Doctor Akagi," Mari replied.

"Don't forget about Vice Commander Fuyutsuki," Kaji said.

"Oh, how could I forget about  _him_?" Mari asked sarcastically, remembering how the man had chewed out her and Asuka following the disastrous first engagement against the Israfel.

" _Mari_ ," Kaji warned.

Asuka listened to Kaji and Mari talk back and forth while she slowly ate her food, tuning them out as she thought about her future.  _I can't really pilot an Eva again, but... what can I do? I know Kaji gave me that information packet on NERV's technical staff and open positions on the bridge, but... do I really want that?_

Asuka glanced up at Kaji as he said something to Mari, who rolled her eyes in response.  _I suppose... working on the bridge would allow me to still be part of the fight without actually putting myself or the baby in harm's way_ , Asuka thought to herself. She glanced down at her still-flat stomach before focusing on her plate of food.

With a melancholy sigh, Asuka took another bite of her food.  _I'm going to need the money, and I can't just abandon the other pilots by leaving NERV behind completely. But... I can't just do it right away. I... I need some time to get out of the city. There are too many painful memories here. I need to... I need to... I just need to get away for a little while, and then I can make my decision when I've had time to breathe_ , Asuka thought to herself.

* * *

**Gendo Ikari's Office, NERV HQ, Saturday, January 23, 2044**

Sitting in front of Gendo Ikari's desk, wearing blue jeans and a red T-shirt, Asuka pushed the signed forms towards the imposing man sitting across from her. Gendo picked up the papers and read them before glancing back up at Asuka. "Are you sure about this?" he asked the girl.

Asuka nodded her head in confirmation. "I... I need some time away from here. I need to have some time to breathe," she said. "There are just... too many memories that keep the wounds open. I need time to heal," Asuka said with a sigh.

Gendo nodded his head in understanding. "You are not the first person to lose a loved one to the Eva project," Gendo said, prompting Asuka to look at him with surprise. "I lost my wife to the project during the first contact experiment with Unit One," he elaborated. Asuka slowly nodded her head in understanding.

"Anyway, I will have these forms processed. By the time you return from your... leave of absence, you will be part of the bridge crew. You  _will_  be required to undergo training for the position, and while your current rank will be retained, the other personnel will have seniority over you, and you will be expected to follow their instructions," Gendo said.

Asuka nodded her head in response. "I understand," she said. "I just... give me a week, and then I'll be back to begin training for the position," Asuka added. "This... isn't easy for me to do, Commander. Most of my life has revolved around piloting Eva, and now... I just feel so hollow and empty inside. It's not just losing Toji, but... knowing that I have to step away from something that was such a big part of my life is... I don't really know how else to describe it, really," Asuka said.

"I understand, Lieutenant," Gendo said with a curt nod of his head. "You are dismissed. I wish you a pleasant afternoon," he added.

"Thank you, Commander," Asuka said as she stood up and gave a short bow before turning around and leaving the room.

After closing the door behind her, Asuka saw two familiar faces in the hallway. "Misato?" Asuka asked as she saw the raven-haired woman in a wheelchair. Standing behind the wheelchair, holding it by the handles, was Makoto Hyuga.

"Hey, Asuka. So... um what brings you here this time of day? You guys still have a half day of school on Saturday, don't you?" Misato asked in response.

"Well... I took the day off to come here and... sign some paperwork," Asuka said.

"Paperwork? What kind of paperwork?" Misato asked her curiously.

"Oh... stuff for my transfer," Asuka replied. Misato and Makoto both raised eyebrows at her. "I... I'm going to be leaving the Pilot Corps and joining the crew of the command center. I'm going to start training for it in about a week," Asuka explained. "But, before I start training... I'm gonna leave Tokyo Three for a few days. I need to some time away from here, you know? I just... I need some space," Asuka elaborated.

Misato and Makoto both nodded their heads in understanding. "Well, good luck, and have fun on your little vacation, Asuka," Misato said. "I'm going to be catching up on some paperwork of my own, if Prince Charming here can get me to my office in time," Misato said, causing Makoto to blush slightly.

"If you stop forcing me to let you do wheelies with the chair, we'd get there sooner," Makoto said with a sigh and sagging shoulders. "Anyway, I'll see you next week, Sohryu-san. Good luck with whatever it is you're doing until then. In the meantime, I've gotta get Katsuragi-san into Commander Ikari's office for a short meeting he requested. Bye," Makoto said as Asuka opened the door to let him push Misato into the room.

"Hyuga! Prince Charming is supposed to  _rescue_  the princess from the dragon, not take her into its lair," Misato teased. Makoto simply sighed in response.  _The things I do for love_ , he thought to himself.

* * *

**Lake Ashino Overlook Pier, Tokyo-3, Later That Afternoon...**

Looking out over the grand view of the lake and the forest surrounding it, Asuka sighed as she remembered the last time she had come out here with Toji.  _Maybe... this wasn't such a good idea_ , she thought to herself as she took one last at the lake before turning around. Standing in front of her was Kaji, who was wearing khaki pants and a green button-up shirt.

"So... where to next?" Kaji asked his surrogate daughter as he leaned against the safety rail.

Asuka sighed and looked around at the city behind them. In all honesty, she didn't really feel like going anywhere at the moment, but she also didn't want to stay at the pier either. "I don't know," Asuka admitted with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Well, I suppose we could just walk around or maybe go the park," Kaji suggested, just as a cool breeze swept through the air.

"I guess. That sounds kind of nice," Asuka said in response. Then she remembered something that she'd been wanting to ask Kaji about. "Kaji? After my baby is born... do you think I'll be allowed to pilot again?" she asked him.

A thoughtful expression came across Kaji's face as he contemplated her question. "Well, I really don't know. I mean, by then, the war could be over," he said. "There might not be a need for the Evas after that," he added.

"I guess not," Asuka said softly in agreement. "I mean, I knew that I would probably have to leave Eva behind eventually, but I didn't think it would be so soon," she added forlornly. There was a far away look in her eyes as she spoke.

"Well... I guess only time will tell," Kaji said.

A few seconds later, Asuka heard her cell phone ringing. Reaching down to pick it up, she saw that her personal phone wasn't the one that was ringing. Her eyes widened as she reached for her NERV-issued phone, just before the city-wide alarms started going off. Kaji's eyes widened as well as he heard the sirens blaring throughout the city.

"No," Kaji said. "It's hasn't even been a whole week," he added in disbelief.

Asuka turned to look out at the lake. She soon saw an object in the distance, flying through the air towards them. With a gulp, Asuka knew why the alarms were going off.

The Fourteenth Angel had arrived.

* * *

**ENDING THEME: FLY ME TO THE MOON, by Claire**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, Zeruel, the Angel of Might, appears in Tokyo-3, decimating everything in his path. As Asuka tries to find shelter, the remaining pilots find themselves being put to the test as they face their toughest opponent yet!

* * *

Author's Notes: And that was episode 18. So, how many readers died of alcohol poisoning by making a drinking game based on every time someone cries? I hope the answer is zero. I don't need that kind of weight on my shoulders.

Anyway, Gendo now knows about Rei's true origins, while Misato's injuries are far greater than what she suffered in NGE and Rebuild following Bardiel's attack.

I also originally wrote a sequence where Mana speaks in Spanish to some nurses, and uses their unfamiliarity with the language to her advantage by saying the lewdest and most vulgar things I could possibly think of. Then I removed this sequence because I felt that it didn't jive well with the melancholy tone of the rest of the chapter. It felt... out of place, so to speak, and it also went on a bit too long.

Now... let's talk about the nightmare sequence. What I tried to do with that was capture the fears and anxieties of motherhood. Having never been pregnant (I am a natural born male) I do not know how it truly feels to go through this process. That being said, my goal was to make readers feel uneasy, and in that regard I hope I succeeded.

As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of the episode and/or story so far in your reviews! They're always appreciated!


	19. Angel Of Might

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still recovering from the incident with Bardiel, the Eva pilots now face their most dangerous foe yet as Zeruel arrives.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

This episode is going to be mostly one long battle. As usual, Zeruel is going to be a nigh unstoppable force of destruction. Also, in this story, Zeruel retains his original NGE design, as I personally prefer that design over the Rebuild design. I don't think that the Rebuild design is bad; in fact, I think it's very good. I just find the NGE design more physically imposing, and given that Zeruel is the Angel of Might, I find it far more appropriate for the character.

Also, one Eva will indeed go berserk in this episode, as in the original episode featuring Zeruel. The question is... which Eva will it be?

Oh, and Jet Alone will  _finally_  be deployed to fight another Angel. I know I keep having characters mention Jet Alone here and there as being on standby, but I've realized that if I don't have the robot fight at least one more Angel, then that's kind of a waste.

Music I listened to while writing this episode includes  _Neon Genesis Evangelion Original Soundtrack 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within_  (2001) by Elliot Goldenthal,  _Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu,  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu and Yoichi Murata and Masamichi Amano,  _The End Of Evangelion_  (1997) by Shiro Sagisu, and  _Halo: Reach_  (2010) by Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites. For this particular episode, however, listening to the music (both in general and in order) is  _highly recommended_.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _The End Of Evangelion_  (1997):  _Munashiki Nagare/The Passage of Emptiness_ ,  _False Regeneration/Itsuwari No Saisei_ ,  _Emergency Evacuation to Regression_ ,  _Tanin No Kansho/Interference Of Others_ ,

Music From  _Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0_ (2009):  _Sin From Genesis_  (A reworked version  _The Beast II_  from NGE),  _Les Betes 2.0_  (A reworked version of  _The Beast_  from NGE that plays during Unit 01's fight with Bardiel in the movie),  _2EM34_E13_  (The first half of  _Thanatos_ ),  _The Aggressor_ ,  _Carnage_ ,  _Evanescence Movement 1_.

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _F02 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_ ,  _E01 - Decisive Battle TV ReMaster_.

Music From  _NGE OST 1 - 3_  (1995 - 1997):  _Decisive Battle_ ,  _The Beast II_ ,  _Harbinger Of Tragedy_ ,  _Normal Blood_ ,  _Infantile Dependence, Adult Dependency_.

Music From  _Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within_  (2001):  _Dead Rain_ ,  _Winged Serpent_ ,  _Code Red_ ,  _Zeus Cannon_ ,  _The Eighth Spirit_ ,

Music From  _Halo Reach_  (2010): _Ashes_ ,  _Ghosts And Glass_ ,  _Lone Wolf_ ,  _Fortress_ ,  _Uphill, Both Ways (Remix)_ ,  _At Any Cost_ ,  _We're Not Going Anywhere_ ,  _We Remember_.

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Interference of Others/Tanin no Kansho_  (Evacuation begins),  **02**.  _Winged Serpent_  (Zeruel arrives/Judgement Day)  **03**.  _Lone Wolf_  (Evas launched/The battle begins),  **04**.  _The Aggressor_  (Zeruel versus Unit 00 and Unit 05),  **05**.  _Code Red_  (Jet Alone's arrival/Zeruel gains the upper hand),  **06**.  _Les Betes 2.0_  (Zeruel versus Jet Alone, Unit 01, and Unit 04),  **07**.  _Dead Rain_  (Shinji's desperate ploy),  **08**.  _The Passage Of Emptiness_  (00:00 - 02:22 is Asuka's resolution and Unit 04's last stand, 02:23 - 04:09 is Unit 02 vs. Zeruel, 04:10 - 06:14 is Zeruel's rage/despair throughout NERV and Tokyo-3),  **09**.  _Sin From Genesis_  (Berserk Eva vs. Zeruel).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**10**.  _F02 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**Episode 19: Angel Of Might**

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Saturday Afternoon, January 23, 2044**

Asuka and Kaji ran alongside the hundreds of other civilians making their way to the shelters as the sirens continued blaring throughout the city. "I don't get it!" Asuka cried out as Kaji kept one hand wrapped around her wrist. "These things always appear months after one another! Why is this one here so soon!?" she asked in confusion.

"Don't ask me! I'm not an expert," Kaji replied as they ran through the crowds, desperately trying to find a place to take shelter. The streets were packed with people and vehicles trying to leave the city. However, as it soon became apparent that they would be unable to leave, the drivers and passengers of said vehicles began disembarking for foot-travel.

Up ahead, near the entrance to a shelter, Asuka and Kaji saw a police officer directing the human traffic. "Please remain calm! This way to Shelter E-Seven! This way to Shelter E-Seven!" the officer called out as he motioned for people to make their way down a set of stairs going underground. "Please form orderly lines and remain calm!" the officer said again.

Seeing the size of the crowd making their way to the shelter, Kaji and Asuka kept running, hoping to find a less crowded location. "Kaji! We should make our way into the Geofront! That's the safest place we can go!" Asuka shouted at him.

"Right! We just gotta find an entrance!" Kaji replied as he and Asuka made their way to the sidewalk and stayed just beyond the rim of the crowds covering the streets. Looking around at the hundreds of people making their way underground, Kaji gulped. He'd never been outside during an Angel attack prior to this moment. There was a horrible feeling of powerlessness that reminded him of his youth as a street urchin, just trying to scrape by and survive. A feeling of dread began to form in Kaji's stomach, and he absolutely hated it.

* * *

**NERV HQ, The Command Center...**

"Report!" Gendo called out as he and Fuyutsuki entered the bridge. Looking at the main screen, Gendo saw the flying object that was slowly passing through the mountains beyond Lake Ashino. "So, the Fourteenth Angel, known in the Dead Sea Scrolls as Zeruel," Gendo muttered to himself. "You have finally arrived."

"Sir! Section Two reports that they have the pilots and are on their way! ETA is five minutes!" First Lieutenant Maya Ibuki called out from her station.

"Commander, we have confirmation from the Defense Force that Jet Alone is prepped and standing by!" 2nd Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba reported from his station.

"Tell them to wait until we have launched the Evas. Jet Alone cannot produce an A.T. Field, and the Fourteenth Angel's A.T. Field has yet to be measured," Gendo replied.

Soon, the doors to the bridge opened and 2nd Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga entered, pushing a wheelchair holding Misato. "We got here as fast as we could!" Makoto announced as he wheeled Misato over to his station before he sat down in his own chair. Aoba and Maya both nodded at Makoto and Misato in acknowledgement before resuming their duties.

"Ibuki, what's the status of the Eva pilots?" Misato asked from her wheelchair.

"Section Two is on their way right now. They'll be arriving in a few minutes," Maya replied.

"What's the status of the city's evacuation?" Misato asked.

"Twelve shelters are already filled and closing off. The other eighteen are still taking people in," 2nd Lieutenant Hina Masaki called out from her station at one of the coordinated analysis centers below the main command section.

"What about outbound traffic?" Misato asked.

"Freeways are jammed all the way to the second district!" 2nd Lieutenant Ryota Izuru reported from his station.

"Dammit," Misato muttered as she looked up at the main screen. Soon, the door to the bridge slid open again and Ritsuko Akagi entered the room. Ritsuko quickly jogged over to Misato's side and looked up at the screen.

Up on the highest part of the bridge, Gendo and Fuyutsuki watched the aerial drone footage of the Angel as it began passing over lake Ashino.

* * *

**_[Track 02 (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l-GTQTwK3Y) _ **

**Tokyo-3, Topside...**

As Zeruel passed over the waters of Lake Ashino, various JSSDF defensive batteries opened up and deployed dozens of rockets and missiles at him. Zeruel's A.T. Field deflected all of them as they exploded upon impact with the orange hexagonal layers surrounding him. Nothing could touch him as he passed over the water.

" _This is Defense Line One! Our weapons have no effect!_ " JSSDF forces communicated with each other.

" _Stand by. Defense Line One, vacate the area. This is Second Division. We are preparing to launch our attack_."

Soon, over a dozen military VTOLs and attack helicopters made their way out of the city to confront him, only for their weapons to have the same effect. Orange hexagons lit up in the air around Zeruel as the missiles, rockets, and bullets exploded or bounced off with no effect. Zeruel continued his slow and measured pace as he approached the city of steel and glass.

" _This is Second Division. Our attack had no effect. Third Line, prepare for contact in T-Minus two minutes!_ "

As the helicopters and VTOLs began moving away from Zeruel, he began to pause in the air and turn before his eyes lit up with a bright glow. Soon, a grand bolt of white light shot forth from his eyes. A section of the aerial vehicles exploded in the air, as did a section of forest in the distance that was in the line of fire.

" _Get out of there! Second Division, get out of there NOW!_ "

Zeruel continued turning in mid-air as he destroyed vehicle after vehicle, leaving nothing behind as burning wreckage began falling down into the waters of Lake Ashino below. With the pests dealt with, Zeruel resumed his flight to the city. Judgement Day had arrived for the denizens of Tokyo-3, and before reaching Lilith, Zeruel would nothing untouched as he destroyed the Lilin and their fortress city.

* * *

**The Command Center, NERV HQ...**

"Sir, we're gathering data from the sensors on the Angel's A.T. Field now!" Makoto reported from his station. "Holy shit, it's nearly half as powerful as the Fifth Angel's field!" he swore in awe. Everyone looked at him before returning their attention to the screen.

"That's strong... but it means we still have a shot without needing the positron rifle," Misato said, a very small current of optimism underlying her words. Up on the screen, however, Zeruel had finally entered the city, with the barrage from the defensive batteries in place doing nothing against it.

**Meanwhile, In the Eva Holding Cages...**

Inside the entry plug of Unit 04, Mana snapped her safety harness together. "This is Sergeant Kirishima reporting. Unit Four is ready for launch," she said over the com. " _ **Affirmative, Sergeant. We're waiting for the other units to report in before we send you topside**_ ," Maya replied over the com.

"Affirmative. Lieutenant Ibuki, who is our commanding officer at the moment?" Mana asked over the com. " _ **Major Katsuragi is present on the bridge**_ ," Maya reported over the com.

"Affirmative. May I speak with her?" Mana asked. " _ **Just one moment**_ ," Maya replied.

" _ **Sergeant Kirishima, this is Major Katsuragi. Good to hear from you**_ ," Misato said over the com. "Affirmative. Major, who is our field commander for this deployment?" Mana asked over the com.

" _ **Warrant Officer Makinami, please report**_ ," Misato asked over the com.

" _This is Warrant Officer Makinami reporting. Unit Five is ready for launch_ ," Mari said over the com.

" _ **Affirmative. Warrant Officer Makinami, are you capable of handling field command for this deployment?**_ " Misato asked over the com. " _Uh... you mean, like, forming plans and giving orders?_ " Mari asked nervously. " _ **Affirmative, Makinami. Are you comfortable with that responsibility?**_ " Misato asked her.

" _Uh... well, n-not really. I've never really been the leader type_ ," Mari reported over the com.

" _ **Understood. Sergeant Kirishima, as you are the second highest ranking pilot, you are the Field Commander for this deployment**_ ," Misato said over the com.

"Affirmative," Mana said before gulping.  _Last time I was in charge... I have to do better this time._   _Hundreds of thousands_  o _f people's lives are at stake this time_ , Mana thought to herself.

"Major, I need a grid reference. What is the target's current location and trajectory?" Mana asked into the com. " _ **The target is passing over section One-A. We'll be sending up weapon boxes in sections Two, Four, Five, and Seven. You will be deployed in Section Five**_ ," Misato replied over the com.

"Affirmative. Attention fellow pilots, this is Sergeant Kirishima. Is everyone ready for launch?" Mana asked over the com. " _Affirmative!_ " the other three pilots replied in unison. "Good. Major, we are ready to deploy. I want the Strike Rifle sent up to my location," Mana added.

" _ **You got it**_ ," Misato replied over the com.

* * *

[Track 03 (right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnXwhcOClbk)

**Tokyo-3, Topside...**

As Zeruel slowly made his way through Tokyo-3, four large black boxes rose from the ground near the center of the city. Rocketing up through those boxes at high speeds before slowing down were the Evangelions, the last defense for humanity. Upon reaching the surface, the four cyborgs immediately began making their way toward a collection of equally large boxes filled with weapons and ammunition.

Grabbing the Strike Rifle, Unit 04 inserted a box of sabot rounds into the weapon and chambered a round before setting the gun to semi-automatic mode. Unit 04 then grabbed a large pistol and two magazines for it before using magnetic spots along its armor to clip them to the side. Nearby, Unit 01 grabbed a pallet rifle and inserted a magazine before chambering a round and setting the weapon to burst fire mode.

In the distance, the sounds of cannon fire could be heard as the JSSDF unleashed a barrage of rockets, missiles, and mortar rounds against Zeruel. The Angel's A.T. Field flashed in a series of bright orange hexagons around his body as the weapons impacted and detonated. Shifting his focus, Zeruel's eyes began to glow, before he let loose with twin beams of energy that cut through the tanks and missiles batteries on the ground. Fire and smoke rose into the air as the vehicles and weapon structures burned on the ground below.

Glancing over at the plumes of smoke rising into the air, Mana activated a distance measuring system on her entry plug's main screen. The target was obscured by the few remaining structures that hadn't been lowered into the base of Tokyo-3's grid. "Alright, everybody make sure to grab some spare ammo!" Mana ordered over the com.

Nearby, Unit 05 grabbed a pair of large-scale hand cannons. " _Hail to the queen, baby!_ " Mari said over the com. Her shit-eating grin could easily be discerned through her tone of voice.

"Holy shit, you've seen that movie?" Mana asked Mari over the com. " _Seen what movie?_ " Mari asked her in response. "Army of Darkness! You just paraphrased a quote from it," Mana replied. " _What the hell is Army of Darkness?_ " Mari asked her in confusion over the com. Mana's jaw dropped in shock at Mari's response, before she slowly closed her mouth and sadly shook her head in disappointment.

" _ **Hey, enough of that! Focus on the mission!**_ " Misato barked over the com. " _YES MA'AM!_ " Mana and Mari both replied simultaneously.

Shifting her view over to Unit 00, Mana saw that the yellow Eva had grabbed a simple pistol from the weapon box. Looking in the distance and seeing more smoke rising as the JSSDF continued fighting the Angel, Mana narrowed her eyes. "Major, I am requesting deployment of weapons from Second Branch. I want Old Painless* sent up here," Mana requested over the com.

" _ **Old Painless? What weapon is that?**_ " Misato asked her. "It's a giant minigun. It should have been sent here alongside Unit Four-Beta when I was transferred over here. I just never thought I'd need to use it. I also want the Trident sent up here as well," Mana replied.

" _ **We'll get right on it. Misato out**_ ," Misato replied over the com.

A few minutes later, two more weapon boxes shot up from the ground several dozen meters away. "Corporal Ayanami, I want you to take the Strike Rifle," Mana said as she handed the weapon to Unit 00. The yellow and grey Eva took the weapon and the spare ammo without question.

Unit 04 then moved over to the first weapon box and retrieved the 3-pronged spear known as the Trident. "Corporal Ikari, take the Trident and stow your rifle as a backup," Mana ordered. " _But, I've never used the Trident before. I don't have any training with it_ ," Shinji protested over the com.

"It's a  _spear_ , Corporal. You stab the enemy with it," Mana retorted, rolling her eyes. "Besides, it's made with pieces of the Lance of Longinus. All we have to do is neutralize the Angel's A.T. Field and the Trident will cut through its body like a hot knife through butter," Mana elaborated.

" _Are you sure about that?_ " Shinji asked her skeptically over the com. "I'm positive," Mana replied. "I've done it before," she added, remembering her and Harold's battle against the Eighth Angel the previous year. Moving Unit 04 over to Unit 01, she gave the purple and green Eva the spear before walking over to the other box and retrieving the giant minigun housed in it. Grabbing a large harness, Unit 04 strapped itself and the minigun to it before feeding the ammo belt through a feeding mechanism. The cyborg then grabbed the main ammo drum and clipped it to the harness before grabbing the second ammo drum and attaching it to another part of the harness, just as she had been trained to do back at Second Branch.

Unit 04 then pressed a green button on the minigun, synchronizing it with Unit 04's entry plug systems in order to utilize the ammo counter. After activating the special targeting program for Old Painless, Mana checked the digital ammo counter up in the upper corner of the screen to make sure that it was accurate.  _I am the ultimate badass. State of the badass art_ , Mana thought to herself with a grin.

"Okay, Old Painless is prepped and ready. We've got company coming, so let's set the table!" Mana barked over the com. "Major, does the JSSDF have Jet Alone on standby?" Mana asked over the com. " _ **Affirmative. We'll ask them to deploy the robot after you guys have neutralized the Angel's A.T. Field**_ ," Misato replied over the com.

"Understood," Mana said before accessing a grid map of Tokyo-3. Using the LCL-proof keyboard next to her seat, she set in a series of coordinates for her teammates. "Okay, Ayanami, Ikari, and Makinami! I want you guys to head for the specified coordinates on your maps. I'm sending them to you now," Mana said over the com as she sent the grid map and data to the other Evas' entry plugs.

" _Affirmative_ ," the other pilots said in unison. The four cyborgs soon made their way to the specified coordinates and took up waiting positions. "All right, when I give the order, I want everybody to deploy their A.T. Fields in sequence to both neutralize the Angel's field and disorient it. These things can detect A.T. Fields, so we'll use that to our advantage," Mana said confidently.

 _We can do this. We can win this time. We have the Trident and even Jet Alone as backup_ , Mana thought to herself.

**A Few Minutes Later...**

" _This is Sergeant Kirishima reporting. Unit Four is in position. All units please report your status, over_ ," Mana requested over the com. As Rei slowly moved Unit 00 towards its designated location, she made sure to keep the power cable free of obstructions.

" _This is Corporal Ikari. Unit One is in position and waiting for further orders. Over_ ," Shinji said over the com.

" _This is Warrant Officer Makinami reporting. Unit Five is in position, over_ ," Mari reported over the com.

"This is Corporal Ayanami reporting. I have almost reached my designated coordinates. I will arrive at the specified location in less than twenty seconds," Rei reported as she moved Unit 00 over behind a large skyscraper. "I have reached the designated coordinates. I am standing by for further instructions," Rei said into the com.

" _Affirmative. Target is approaching us. Wait for my signal_ ," Mana said over the com. Looking out at the cityscape around her, Rei watched as a VTOL retreated through the air before it was hit by a burst of light and exploded. The burning vehicle fell to the streets below and crashed in another explosion. " _Ayanami, the target is approaching your position. Deploy your A.T. Field... NOW!_ " Mana ordered over the com.

Rei nodded her head. "Affirmative," Rei said as she deployed Unit 00's A.T. Field. "Target A.T. Field is... not neutralized. My A.T. Field is not strong enough," Rei said as she looked at the small window on her screen showing the wavelength patterns of her A.T. Field interacting with that of the Angel. "The Angel's A.T. Field is too strong," Rei reiterated, just before she saw the mask of the Angel's face as it slightly elongated its neck to peer around the building.

When the mask was looking directly at Rei, the Angel opened its mouth and let out a mechanical-sounding hiss. "The Angel has discovered my position!" Rei announced over the com. " _Makinami! Deploy Unit Five's A.T. Field and move in! Assist Corporal Ayanami!_ " Mana barked over the com.

" _I'm on it!_ " Mari replied over the com as Unit 05 leapt into action, deploying its A.T. Field. Rei watched as the wavelengths on her screen phased out one another, only for another Field to appear in place of the old one. "It has multiple A.T. Fields!" Rei exclaimed in shock.

Unit 05 opened fire with its weapons, hitting the second A.T. Field and grabbing Zeruel's attention. Uncurling the strange sheets under its body, the Angel lashed out, slicing the guns in half. Unit 05 dropped the ruined weapons and ducked as the Angel sliced through the air again, before Unit 00 dove for cover behind another building nearby.

Seeing movement, Zeruel turned his head and built up his beam attack before sending twin streams of light through the air, slicing into Unit 00's power cable, severing it. "No!" Rei cried out as she saw the countdown timer appear on her screen.

00:05:58 SECONDS.

Raising his sheet arms again, Zeruel sent them flying through the air cutting through the building Unit 00 was hiding behind and forcing the Eva to sprint away. Unit 00 ran as fast as it could as Zeruel sent bolt after bolt of energy through the air at the Eva, hitting building after building in his attempt to kill the clone of Adam that was opposing him.

Unit 05 raised itself from its own hiding spot and fired a pistol at the Angel, hitting it while its A.T. Field was down. Zeruel quickly turned his attention over to the olive green Evangelion firing at him, letting the bullets hit him before bouncing off of his body. " _Shit! The fucker's invincible!_ " Mari swore over the com as Zeruel's eyes lit up.

Unit 05 leapt away as it dodged another blast from the Angel. A crucifix-shaped beam of light appeared in conjunction with the explosion. Zeruel let out another mechanical-sounding hiss, just before Unit 00 opened fire from a distance with its strike rifle, hitting Zeruel multiple times with the sabot rounds but only leaving mere scratches against his hide, most of which began healing very quickly.

Raising his sheet arms into the air, Zeruel split the angled ends into five digit tips, before sending the hands forward and grabbing Unit 00 by the legs. Grabbing the surprised Eva, Zeruel dragged it across the ground before throwing it into the air. Unit 00 crashed into the ground with a roll, damaging several buildings before pushing itself up off the ground.

As Zeruel prepared another attack, Unit 00 sprinted away, taking cover behind a tall building nearby, just as Unit 05 fired at the Angel again, distracting it.

00:02:35 SECONDS.

Inside Unit 00's entry plug, Rei took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She knew Zeruel's name and what it meant. But she did not realize just how formidable of an opponent he would be, nor did she realize that he would have more than one A.T. Field. Given the abnormally large size of his visible core, this possibility should have been given consideration.

Keeping Unit 00 in a crouching position, Rei opened a com window to speak to Mana and Shinji simultaneously. "Sergeant Kirishima, I have temporarily evaded the Angel. Unfortunately, I have lost the strike rifle, and my power cable has been cut," Rei said into the com.

" _Don't worry, Rei! We'll have Misato send up a new power cable for ya!_ " Shinji replied over the com. Rei smiled and nodded her head, just before she heard a strange noise in the air. Forcing Unit 00 to look up, Rei gasp as she saw energy beams slicing through the building she was hiding behind. And then there was a loud groaning as the top half of the building began to slide and fall over, revealing Zeruel on the other side as he pushed the building over.

Rei had only seconds to register what was happening before the building collapsed onto Unit 00, crushing it. " _REEEIII!_ " Shinji screamed over the com as Rei cried out in fear while Unit 00 was pushed to the ground by the weight of the building, until the structure struck Unit 00's head, sending a sympathetic signal to Rei. " _Rei, speak to me!_ " Shinji cried out.

Feeling the weight of the building through her synchronization with Unit 00, Rei let out a grunt as Unit 00 was completely covered and left sprawling underneath the building. Hovering over the collapsed tower, Zeruel let out what sounded like a demented mechanical victory roar.

" _Corporal Ayanami, please respond! I say again, Corporal Ayanami, please respond!_ " Mana yelled over the com. Inside the entry plug of Unit 00, Rei struggled to speak as she found herself slipping into unconsciousness, her fear and intense emotions having briefly heightened her synchronization enough for her to feel the full brunt of the building's weight hitting Unit 00.

" _Rei!? Rei! Rei!_ " Shinji cried out over the com.

"Sh...Shin...ji," Rei struggled to say, just before her world went dark.

* * *

**NERV HQ Topside Entrance Facility, Tokyo-3...**

Tapping a series of buttons next to the elevator, Kaji inhaled as he heard the sounds of battle outside. Thunderous booms echoed around the hallways as the Evas and the remaining JSSDF forces fought against the Angel. "Come on, come on!" Kaji hissed as he saw the light on the elevator move slowly upward.

"Kaji, I found a flight of stairs we can use!" Asuka shouted as she grabbed Kaji by the arms and led him down a corridor. "This way!" she exclaimed, just as the building shook and the lights flickered. "That felt really close!" Asuka yelled with a gulp.

Following another tremor, Asuka and Kaji reached a door that led to a stairwell. "Okay, let's go!" Kaji said as he followed Asuka down the stairs, keeping a firm grip on the hand rails. Another tremor soon shook the building as the battle raged outside in the streets.

* * *

**The Command Center, NERV HQ...**

"Major, Jet Alone is on its way to the battlefield, ETA two minutes!" Makoto called out from his station. Wheeling her wheelchair over to Makoto's station, Misato used her one good arm and hand to motion for Makoto to give her a headset. Nodding his head, Makoto took off his own and gave it to Misato, who quickly conversed with the JSSDF commander on the other end.

"Uh-huh," Misato said, nodding her head as the JSSDF commander spoke. "Right. Okay... good. You can pull it away from the battlefield if we can't drop the Angel's A.T. Field long enough for Jet Alone to do its job. With that A.T. Field up, your robot ain't gonna be able to do much," Misato said over the headset.

" _Understood. We'll have the remote override on standby in case we need to issue Jet Alone the order to retreat_ ," Commander Shiro Tokita said.

"Thank you," Misato said before she handed the headset back to Makoto.

* * *

[Track 05 (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGdlElgx4Cc)

**Tokyo-3, Topside, A Few Minutes Later...**

Unit 05 grabbed two pallet rifles from a nearby deployment box and loaded them up, just as Jet Alone landed on a street nearby. "Took you long enough!" Mari spat as she loaded her weapons and activated the duel-wield targeting system for her entry plug. "Hey, Sarge!? When are you gonna use that fucking minigun!?" Mari asked as she saw Unit 04 hiding behind a nearby building.

" _When we cancel the fucker's A.T. Field! This thing is useless if that A.T. Field is still up!_ " Mana replied over the com.

"Well then fucking deploy your own field already!" Mari shouted over the com. " _Don't give me or-actually, never mind. I should've done that in the first place. Corporal Ikari, deploy your A.T. Field now!_ " Mana barked over the com.

Simultaneously, Unit 04 and Unit 01 deployed their A.T. Fields at full strength. An orange ripple appeared in the air near Zeruel as his second A.T. Field was neutralized, while his third one was weakened. Zeruel turned his attention to the two giants made from Lilith as a large tan and silver robot stood in the distance.

"Shit! It still has another A.T. Field in action! What the hell is this thing!?" Mari asked incredulously as she saw the readings on her screen. "Whatever. Time for payback," Mari said with a grin as she took a deep breath. "Showtime," she then hissed as she made Unit 05 leap into the air and fire both rifles at Zeruel.

Zeruel's third A.T. Field rippled as the large bullets impacted against it. "Come on, just give us a break already!" Mari yelled angrily as Unit 05 touched down and fired another burst from both rifles. Zeruel's eyes began to glow.

"Yes! Gotcha now!" Mari exclaimed joyously as the bullets hit Zeruel's hide with no resistance. Unfortunately, the Angel's flesh easily repaired whatever damage had been done to it, just as it sent two energy beams out of its eyes. Unit 05 dodged the beams, while Unit 04 stepped out into the open and fired Old Painless at Zeruel, ripping into the Angel's flesh as the crack of gunfire relased by the weapon was loud enough to rival a thunderstorm.

"How do ya like  _that_ , asshole!?" Mari shouted at the Angel as she weaved Unit 05 back and forth around buildings, carefully making sure that her power cable didn't get caught. As Zeruel tracked Unit 05's movements, Mari opened up a com window to Mana. "Mana, I've got it distracted right now, so you and Shinji can get in close!" Mari exclaimed into the com.

" _Affirmative! Shinji, now! Use the Trident!_ " Mana barked over the com.

" _Affirmative! This is for Rei!_ " Shinji shouted as Unit 01 stepped out from cover and charged at Zeruel, holding the Trident at the ready.

Zeruel stopped firing his beams and turned around, recognizing the sensation of the Longinus pieces inside the Trident. With lightning speed, Zeruel lashed out with one arm and caught the spear in its giant flat hand, halting its progress and causing Unit 01 to falter and lurch forward before stopping her movements.

" _You gotta be kidding me!_ " Shinji shouted over the com.

Spying the power cable attached to Unit 01, Zeruel launched his other arm and sliced through it with ease.

" _Oh shit!_ " Shinji cried out over the com. " _Dammit, I only have twelve-wait, I have... I have twelve hours of internal power!? What the hell!?_ " Shinji asked over the com.

"Shinji, watch out!" Mari exclaimed as she saw Zeruel's eyes begin to glow. Mari pushed Unit 05 to rush forward. " _Oh shit!_ " Shinji swore again as he tried to pry the Trident from Zeruel's grip. " _ **Shinji, let go of the Trident!**_ " Misato shouted over the com.

Unit 01 let go of the spear, just as Unit 05 slammed into her, knocking her out of the way as Zeruel's eyes finished charging. The Angel sent a powerful blast of energy forward, hitting Unit 05 and blowing an arm off. "Hhhhrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrgh!" Mari cried out in agony as Unit 05 and Unit 01 tumbled to the ground.

Unit 04 fired Old Painless again, hitting Zeruel in the face and cracking his mask, before he put up his A.T. Field again. " _You fucking bastard!_ " Mana spat angrily over the com. Unit 04 then angrily set the minigun on the ground as Zeruel turned the Trident in its hand and raised it into the air, aiming it at Unit 04.

Unit 04 assumed a combat stance as Zeruel tossed the spear its way. " _ **Mana, get out of the way!**_ " Misato shouted, not knowing that the Trident would actually  _follow_  the Eva as it moved. Mana, however, was already aware of this, and so she waited until the last second to leap forward and roll over on the ground, letting the spear pass over her and fly straight through the air, heading for the mountains in the distance.

" _Shit!_ " Mana swore, realizing that the only weapon with the power to break the A.T. Field on its own was now miles away. " _Ikari, Makinami! Report!_ " Mana shouted over the com.

"I... fuck, my arm!" Mari swore over the com as she forced Unit 05 to stand up. " _Makinami, get back down!_ " Mana shouted over the com as Zeruel turned to face Unit 05, his arms rolling back up as he prepared to attack.

Unit 05 turned and saw the Angel rearing up vertically as its white sheet arms rolled back up and then flexed outward multiple times in preparation for its attack. Mari's eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen. " _Makinami, move your ass! Fucking move!_ " Mana shouted over the com as Unit 04 picked up its minigun and prepared to fire again.

Zeruel then sent one arm flying backwards, cutting into the weapon and slicing it to pieces, forcing Unit 04 to drop the weapon to escape the attack. Zeruel then brought the arm back and sent the other one flying forward, slicing Unit 05's other arm off just as the Eva began moving.

Blood poured out of the wound and down onto the streets below as Unit 05 staggered to regain its balance. "Oh shit! Oh shit! My arm! My fucking arm!" Mari cried out as she looked down at her still intact arm in the entry plug. But while the arm was still intact, she could feel the pain of separation through her synchronization with Unit 05. The pain was almost overwhelming.

"It's only a flesh wound. It's only a flesh wound! I still have my legs! I still have my legs!" Mari grunted to herself in pain, just as she looked up and saw Zeruel preparing to unleash his next attack. Her eyes widened in fear as she realized how completely defenseless she truly was now.

* * *

**The Commander Center, NERV HQ...**

"Lieutenant Ibuki, de-synchronize Unit Five's pilot! Do it now!" Gendo ordered firmly.

Maya Ibuki quickly entered the code to remotely de-synchronize Mari from Unit 05, just seconds before Zeruel sent both arms flying forward again, cutting off Unit 05's left leg... and its head.

"Oh god!" Misato screamed as she saw Unit 05's head fall to the ground. "Mari! Mari!" Misato shouted. "Maya, please tell me you cut the connection in time!" Misato pleaded with the mousy tech as she turned her wheelchair.

"I-I think so!" Maya replied nervously with a gulp. Shen the looked at the terminal showing Mari's vital signs. "Sh-She's still alive! Her pulse is high, but she's still alive," Maya said before sighing in relief.

"What about Rei? What's the status of Unit Zero?" Misato asked her.

"It's the same as it was the last time we checked it, Major. Rei is alive but unresponsive," Maya reported. "Unit Zero only has minimal power left for redundant systems and the entry plug's life support. When or if she wakes up, she won't be able to do anything," Maya added.

* * *

[Track 06 (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i1iCjeH7Kc)

**Tokyo-3, Topside...**

Shinji panted as he forced Unit 01 to leap to the streets to avoid another blast from Zeruel. The buildings next to Unit 01 erupted in a shower of debris and fire. Nearby, Unit 04 had detached its power cable and was now making its way over to where Unit 00 had been defeated, searching for the strike rifle. "Kirishima-san! I need some help!" Shinji cried out into the com.

" _Just keep the Angel occupied another minute! I just found the strike rifle!_ " Mana replied over the com. "Easy for you to say!" Shinji retorted as he forced Unit 01 to sprint away from Zeruel as it sent forth another series of energy bolts, destroying a cluster of buildings behind the Eva.

Soon, as Unit 01 leaned to the side while making a turn, Zeruel fired another bolt at the building in front of the Eva. Unit 01 lost her footing and fell sideways, crashing into a building. "Oh no! Oh no!" Shinji cried out as he saw the Angel approaching on his entry plug's screen.

Just as Zeruel was about to fire another attack, a series of missiles and rockets impacted the Angel's hide, detonating in brilliant flowers of fire and smoke. Zeruel let out an aggravated screech before turning its short neck and head to see Jet Alone with a compartment of missiles opened up. The robot began making its way toward the Angel, carefully weaving around the buildings of the city as it fired another barrage of rockets at the beast.

As Zeruel's eyes began to glow again, it felt a pain in its side as Unit 04 fired a number of saboted rounds from its strike rifle. " _Eat this, shit-head!_ " Mana barked over the com. " _Corporal Ikari, find yourself a weapon!_ " Mana added before she forced Unit 04 to find cover while reloading the rifle.

Shinji forced Unit 01 to twist herself sideways before pushing her hands against the building to stand up straight. Looking around at the city, which had been transformed into a sea of fire by Zeruel, Shinji soon saw an open deployment box in the distance. A weapon box stood erect nearby. Checking his internal power timer, Shinji saw that he had 11.5 hours of internal power left.

 _I don't get it. Why is Unit One's internal power supply increasing? Is it... because it ate that Angel last year? Did eating that Angel somehow alter the Eva? It's the only explanation that makes sense, I guess. I mean, I haven't bee told about any new batteries or internal power supplies being put inside Unit One, so that must be it_ , Shinji thought to himself.

As Unit 01 reached the weapons box, it grabbed a large sniper rifle and a box of ammo before loading the weapon. "Remember your training," Shinji told himself as he activated the special targeting system for the rifle. As Unit 01 pressed the button on the exterior of the rifle to synchronize the ammo counter with the entry plug, Shinji saw Jet Alone and Unit 04 fighting Zeruel in the distance.

Forcing Unit 01 into a kneeling position, Shinji steadied the rifle and aimed at the Angel, waiting for the small green circle in the center of the screen to turn red. "Come on... line up for me," Shinji muttered as he aimed the sniper rifle at Zeruel. "That's it," he said to himself as the number scales indicating target distance and elevation slowly stopped moving.

"Aaaaaaannnnnd... target locked," Shinji said with a grin as the green circle flashed red. Unit 01 carefully squeezed the trigger of the sniper rifle, only to feel resistance from the trigger. Shinji blinked in confusion, before realizing that he had forgotten to turn off the safety mechanism.

"Dammit!" Shinji spat angrily as he forced the Eva to switch off the safety. He then went through the process of lining up the rifle with the Angel again, watching as Jet Alone leapt into the air before side-stepping an attack from Zeruel's deadly arms. The robot was soon blocking his shot. "Move! Move out of the way!" Shinji hissed in annoyance at the robot.

" _Ikari, what's taking so long? Where are you!?_ " Mana asked over the com as a small window appeared on the entry plug's screen in the lower left-hand corner. "I'm using the sniper rifle to attack from a distance, but J-J-uh... the robot is blocking my shot!" Shinji responded.

" _Then change your position! Find another location_ ," Mana said over the com. Shinji nodded his head with a frustrated sigh. "Affirmative," he growled reluctantly. He soon forced Unit 01 to stand up and move several dozen meters to the side for a better view of the Angel.

Taking another kneeling position, Shinji growled in contempt as he waited for the rifle to lock onto the Angel again. "Okay, let's try this again," Shinji said to himself as the targeting reticle changed from green to red. Unit 01 squeezed the trigger of the sniper rifle and fired an explosive-tipped sabot round at the Angel, piercing its hide and causing it to let out a mechanical-sounding roar of anger.

With the Angel distracted, Jet Alone quickly rushed in to slam its body against the Angel's side, knocking Zeruel off balance. Zeruel let out a mechanical shriek of surprise as he fell to the ground, before he glanced up at Jet Alone and shot a razor-sharp sheet arm forward, slicing Jet Alone's left arm off. Using his stubby legs to push himself back up, Zeruel leaned forward and assumed a quadrupedal stance while facing the one-armed robot.

Zeruel's eyes began to glow, just as Jet Alone opened up its weapons compartment and fired dozens of missiles at Zeruel point blank. The weapons impacted and detonated against the Angel's face and hide, creating a series of bright red, orange, and yellow flowers with plumes of black smoke. Soon, twin energy beams cut through the smoke and the air, blowing Jet Alone's top sensor suite apart.

As the smoke cleared, Zeruel used his arms to grab the robot and lift it into the air. With an angry roar, Zeruel slammed Jet Alone into the ground before lifting it up and repeating the action again and again. When he was finished pulverizing the robot, Zeruel let go and then used his arms to slice Jet Alone's limbs off.

With a strange groan that sounded antagonistic, Zeruel picked up the robot one more time and threw it into the side of a building, watching in satisfaction as the metal carcass fell to the ground alongside the rubble. Zeruel let out a victorious mechanical trill, before he felt something detonate against his back. Angered at having his victory interrupted, Zeruel turned around and sent forth a series of furious energy bolts, destroying dozens of buildings in brilliant flashes of light, fire, and smoke.

Inside the entry plug of Unit 01, Shinji grimaced. No matter what they did, the Angel just got back up and soldiered on. "Kirishima-san, we need a plan," Shinji said worriedly as he watched Zeruel rise into the air again.

" _I'm working on it_ ," Mana replied as she fired the strike rifle at Zeruel, only to hit his redeployed A.T. Field again. " _Dammit! Son of a bitch just won't quit!_ " Mana spat angrily. "Kirishima-san... we can't beat it this way," Shinji said with a gulp as he looked around at the fiery landscape that was Tokyo-3. The city was slowly becoming unrecognizable as their battle against the Fourteenth Angel dragged on.

 _At this point, we might as well just drop an N-Two mine onto the damn thing_ , Shinji thought to himself. And then his eyes lit up as an idea popped into his head. "Wait a minute..." he trailed off.  _It might end up destroying most of the city, but at this point... what do we have to lose? If this thing breaches the Geofront and reaches Terminal Dogma, none of it will matter anyway_ , Shinji reasoned.

Shinji soon opened up a private com channel with Unit 04's entry plug. "Kirishima-san, keep the Angel distracted as long as you can," Shinji said into the com. Mana looked at him through the com window incredulously. " _What are you planning?_ " she worriedly asked him over the com.

"I've got a really crazy and dangerous plan. I just need to get back down into the Geofront to grab something," Shinji explained. " _Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast!_ " Mana replied as she grimaced and forced Unit 04 to dodge another attack from the Angel before firing the strike rifle at it again.

"I'll do my best," Shinji replied with a nod. Forcing Unit 01 to set the sniper rifle down onto the ground after turning the safety back on, Shinji de-synced the ammo counter. He looked back over at the weapon box, and the deployment box next to it. Glancing back over at Unit 04 as it danced around the Angel's attacks, Shinji closed his eyes and inhaled. "Desperate times... call for desperate measures," he said to himself, before he forced Unit 01 to move.

* * *

**The Command Center, NERV HQ...**

"Sir, we have a signal from one of the deployment boxes!" Shigeru Aoba called out. Everyone looked over at him in confusion. "It's moving down into the Geofront!" he added.

"What? Did you recall it?" Gendo asked in confusion from his seat.

"Negative, sir! It's... it's Unit One!" Aoba stated. Everyone gasped in shock, while Gendo raised an eyebrow at the statement.

"Shinji, what are you doing?" Gendo asked as he grabbed the microphone on his desk terminal.

" _I'm not running away, if that's what you're thinking_ ," Shinji replied over the com.

"Really? It certainly looks like it," Gendo replied with a frown.

" _I'm just coming back down to get a new weapon to fight the Angel. This thing is too tough. Every time we hit it, the wounds just heal, and its A.T. Field is too strong, especially with only two of us fighting against it now_ ," Shinji elaborated in response.

 _Is he... does he know about the Spear of Longinus in Terminal Dogma? No, he hasn't been down there since the battle against the Fifth Angel_ , Gendo thought to himself.  _So, what is he looking for down here?_

Meanwhile, down below, Misato was gripping the arm of her wheelchair as she watched the aerial drone footage of Unit 04 fighting against Zeruel in the fiery streets of Tokyo-3. "Shinji, whatever your plan is, please don't take too long," Misato said worriedly as Unit 04 ducked behind various buildings as cover from the Angel. Sitting nearby, Makoto saw the worry on Misato's face.

Checking to see if anyone was looking, Makoto scooted his chair over and placed his left hand on Misato's right hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Misato's eyes widened as she looked at Makoto, who simply gave her a reassuring smile. Misato nervously smiled back, feeling butterflies in her stomach while her heartbeat increased at the sensation of Makoto's skin against her own. Misato quickly found herself calming down, however, and she found her heart rate beginning to slow itself back to normal. Forcing herself to keep her composure, Misato quietly nodded her head in appreciation of Makoto's gesture, before returning her attention to the main screen.

* * *

**NERV HQ Personnel Docking Platform D-12, Inside The Geofront...**

Asuka and Kaji quickly exited the tram car as its doors opened, before they both hoisted themselves over the security checkpoint. There were no guards standing by at the moment, since everyone had been ordered to shelter following the defeat of Unit 00 up top. Quickly rushing over to another security checkpoint, Asuka used her NERV ID card to gain access to the main doors behind it. "Follow me!" she barked at Kaji, who was right behind her.

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Topside...**

Seeing the ammo counter for the strike rifle reach zero, Mana let out a growl of anger. "Son of a bitch!" she swore. She quickly forced Unit 04 to leap over behind the burning wreckage of what was once a multi-level office building. Zeruel simply glided through the air over the flaming streets and ruined buildings around him.

Rearranging Unit 04's grip on the rifle, Mana forced the cyborg to hold it by the barrel and main body, much like a club. As Zeruel came closer, Unit 04 sprung from its hiding place and swung the rifle at the Angel, smashing it into his masked face. Zeruel briefly halted his advance in shock at the action, before he rapidly extended his A.T. Field, pushing the Evangelion back and sending it crashing into another building behind it.

Quickly pushing itself off the building, Unit 04 ducked and leapt forward, rolling over on the ground beneath Zeruel and retrieving its progressive knife. Unit 04 brought the knife upwards and tried to slice into the Angel from beneath, but there wasn't enough space to gain proper momentum or speed. Quickly re-sheathing the weapon, Unit 04 rolled over again and shot forward, sprinting away from Zeruel as he slowly twisted his neck to glance back at the retreating Eva.

Mana pushed Unit 04 as hard and as fast as she could in her effort to buy time for Shinji to return from the Geofront. "Dammit, Ikari!" Mana yelled angrily as she forced Unit 04 to leap over a burning building.  _I'm out of ammo, out of weapons, and out of options! FUCK! Wait... no, I'm not. Unit 00..._  Making her way back toward the original location for her plan to fight the Angel, Mana saw the toppled building that had taken down Unit 00.

Quickly rushing over to the fallen building, Unit 04 began to push and pry at the structure, breaking several walls and windows. "I hope this thing was insured," Mana muttered to herself inside the entry plug as she began pulling at parts of the building in an effort to move it off of Unit 00.  _Come on, I need that spare ammo! Move! Move, you piece of shit building_ , Mana thought angrily as she tried lifting the building from the underside. A mechanical groan emanated from the structure, and Mana grinned as she began thinking herself victorious, until she felt pressure around her right leg.

Mana forced Unit 04 to look down just in time to see a white sheet wrapped around the Eva's right leg. "Oooohhhhh shit," Mana gulped, just as Unit 04 was pulled back. The cyborg fell forward and landed with its chest on the ground.

"So, you wanna play dirty, do ya? Well, that's fine by me!" Mana shouted as she twisted Unit 04 around and grabbed at the sheet arm. Unit 04 began twisting the sheet around in its grip, causing Zeruel to hiss before pulling the arm back at lightning speed, cutting into the armor and palms of Unit 04's hands.

"Ah, shit!" Mana swore as she felt the sympathetic injuries to her own hands. Looking up, Mana saw Zeruel's eyes beginning to glow, and with no ammo and no weapon, she had only one choice. She quickly forced Unit 04 to turn around and run away, hoisting itself up and over the collapsed tower that covered Unit 00, before Zeruel fired a powerful blast from his eyes and mouth.

A giant crucifix of light appeared from the ground as Unit 04 found itself grabbing the edges of the hole made by the blast. Glancing down, Mana gasped as she saw that Zeruel had blasted a hole straight through eighteen layers of the Geofront's protective armor. "Jesus  _Christ!_ " Mana swore in awe with a gulp, before her eyes widened as she saw the limp form of Unit 00 lying on top of the 19th armor layer. Bits and pieces of the collapsed building were spread out around the Eva.

" _Ayanami_ ," Mana gasped. Still holding on to the rim of the hole, Mana forced Unit 04 to pull itself up. "Come on! You can do it! Father, give me strength!" Mana pleaded, hoping that her father's soul could hear her from the Eva's core. Slowly, and with a groan, Mana was able to make Unit 04 pull itself up and over the rim of the hole.

As the silver and red-trimmed Eva slowly crawled forward, Mana noticed that she hadn't been attacked yet. Certainly, given how vulnerable she had just been, the Angel would have finished her off, but why hadn't it. As she turned the Eva around, Mana soon saw the reason for the Angel's lack of activity. It was preparing another blast as its eyes and mouth glowed.

"No! Ayanami!" Mana shouted as Zeruel let loose another combined bolt of raw power, creating another crucifix of light. "Misato! This is Sergeant Kirishima! The Angel has breached Geofront! I say again, the Angel has  _breached_  the Geofront!" Mana shouted into the com.

"Get everyone out of there! Get everybody out of there now!" Mana yelled in concern.

"Shinji, if you can hear me, your plan had better fucking work!" Mana snarled into the com. " _I'm almost ready! I just haven't-wait! I found it! I found it!_ " Shinji shouted over the com.

"Well, good for you!" Mana snarked into the com. "While you've been busy fucking around downstairs, the Fourteenth Angel just breached all twenty-two layers of the Geofront, asshole!" Mana practically snarled.

" _K-Kirishima-san!_ " Shinji responded. " _I_ -" "I don't wanna hear it! Get whatever the fuck it is that that you need to get, and prepare to fight inside the Geofront! The Angel's already making its way down there, and I'm hitching a ride with it," Mana said before she forced Unit 04 take several steps back as Zeruel slowly lowered himself into the hole he'd just made.

" _Wait, what do you mean!?_ " Shinji asked her in confusion. "It means we've reached the endgame, Ikari. If we don't stop the Angel down in the Geofront, we're all dead. So whatever you're hoping to use against it had better be worth the trouble, or I swear I will fucking kill you," Mana replied angrily as she looked at the com window showing Shinji's face.

"I'll see you shortly," she said before closing the com window. Taking a deep breath, Mana forcing Unit 04 to start jogging, before launching into a sprint as the giant cyborg approached the rim of the hole. Just before reaching that last step, Mana forced the Eva to leap into the air, and the silver giant fell down into the bowels of the Geofront before landing on top of Zeruel's back.

"Okay, asshole! Let's see how you like this!" Mana yelled as Unit 04 retrieved its progressive knife and slammed the blade into the back of the Angel, squarely between the shoulder protrusions. Zeruel let out a screech as he began shaking from side to side in an attempt to lose his foe. Mana simply had Unit 04 hold onto the knife while repeatedly kicking and punching the Angel's hide.

"You're fucking dead! You hear me!? You're dead!" Mana yelled as she assaulted Zeruel's body, grabbing his hide and digging Unit 04's fingers into his flesh. Zeruel proceeded to slam itself against the walls of the Geofront's armor layers in retaliation, while Unit 04 simply held on and continued kicking and scraping at the beast.

**A Few Minutes Later, Inside The Geofront...**

Multiple defense turrets lining the walls of the Geofront scanned the intruder slowly descending through the air before opening fire. Large rounds tore through the air before hitting the Angel and the Eva holding onto it. "Shit! I'm on your side, assholes!" Mana yelled as she felt the sympathetic injuries from Unit 04 being shot, right before several missiles sped their way.

"Oh hell!" Mana whined as she was knocked loose from Zeruel by the impact of several missiles against the Angel. As Unit 04 fell through the air, Mana forced herself to focus.  _Come on, I've practiced this in Perfection Valley! Never successfully, but I've practiced it!_

With very little time to lose, Mana extended Unit 04's A.T. Field and raised it as high as possible before she saw a flash of orange hitting the ground below. Still moving, she began drawing the A.T. Field inward, feeling herself being jostled with every jolt and bump caused by her less than stellar usage of the A.T. Field as an inertial dampener. Focusing solely on controlling her A.T. Field, Mana ignored the sounds of gunfire and explosions above her as she controlled her descent to the ground below, although she did notice that doing so consumed a lot of power from the Eva, as the countdown timer for her internal battery system quickly went from three hours and forty minutes to three hours and twenty minutes in the span of thirty seconds.

Meanwhile, hundreds of meters up in the air, Zeruel's eyes lit up as he slowly turned himself and sent bolt after bolt of energy at the turrets and missile pods lining the interior walls of the black moon that had been converted into Humanity's Final Defense. As he slowly descended to the ground below, Zeruel found himself irritated as the knife stuck in his back made deploying his A.T. Fields almost impossible. Focusing, he began to heal the flesh that the knife had cut into, slowly pushing the metal blade up and out of its home before it was finally evicted.

As more missile batteries on the ground opened fire, Zeruel targeted them and sent blast after blast from his eyes, causing an array of explosions across the landscape below. As the smoke rose into the air, Zeruel lowered himself toward the ground. Looking around at the transformed landscape, Zeruel saw the large lake at the bottom, a few streams flowing around, hills, bridges, roads, and some forests. But the main goal of his journey, that destination which only Gaghiel had ignored, was beneath the pyramid.

Glancing down around the pyramid, Zeruel saw the yellow and gray form of Unit 00 lying still on the ground, along with chunks of the building he had crushed it with earlier. He also noticed the silver annoyance grabbing something from a large black box over by a small building and road. The interloper had not learned its lesson. Reaching up with one of its sheet arms, Zeruel formed a series of digits again and grabbed the loose knife resting on his back. As Zeruel finally reached the ground, he held his arm forward, showing off the knife in his hand, before simply dropping it onto the ground in front of him.

The silver cyborg stared him down, holding a large tube in its hands. A light flashed on the top of the tube, before a large capsule shot out of it. In mere milliseconds, the capsule broke apart to release dozens of smaller objects, all of which impacted against Zeruel's hide and detonated simultaneously in a series of bright and fiery high-yield explosions.

[Track 07 (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC1d5LRMND4)

As the smoke cleared, Zeruel heard a strange noise. He turned his stubby neck to see the purple and green cyborg rising up on a platform holding a large white tube with a pointed tip on it. The Lilith clone raised its head to look at him before charging forward at full speed.

Shinji pushed Unit 01 to move as fast as possible. " _Ikari, is that what I think it is!?_ " Mana asked him incredulously over the com. Glancing at the com window in the corner of his screen, Shinji nodded his head. "Yes, it is. It's an N-Two mine," Shinji said firmly.

" _An N-Two... are you FUCKING INSANE!?_ " Mana shouted at him, her eyes widened in shock.

"Dammit, Mana!" Shinji shouted back at her as he kept pushing Unit 01 forward, forcing the Eva to leap into the air to avoid a blast from Zeruel. "Desperate times call for desperate measures!" Shinji finished with a determined grimace on his face. His brows were furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he returned his attention to the giant floating bastard ahead of him.

"Eat this, you armless fuck!" Shinji spat as he slammed the N2 mine into Zeruel's A.T. Field. Shinji then raised his own A.T. Field as high as it could go, before activating the mine's thrusters, thereby setting off a timer inside of it. "Mana! I need your help to take this thing down!" Shinji cried out as Unit 01 pushed itself and the N2 mine against the orange hexagon field int he air. The armored boots of the Eva dug into ground and plowed sections of dirt as the giant struggled to gain traction.

Unit 04 dropped its cannon and rushed forward, slamming itself into the Angel's A.T. Field  before deploying its own Field as high as it could go while clawing at Zeruel's field with its hands, trying to rip a hole open in the orange hexagon field. On both entry plug screens, the pilots could see a readout showing the phasing of the fields as one layer was cancelled out, before another layer began to weaken. On the main screen of Shinji's entry plug, a countdown timer for the N2 mine was seen in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

" _ **Shinji! Mana! This is insane! Don't do this!**_ " Misato shouted over the com. " _ **You could both die!**_ " she added worriedly. "We don't have a choice!" Shinji exclaimed with a grunt. "If we don't kill the Angel, then  _everyone_  dies!" Shinji added as he saw the timer get closer to detonation.

"Come on! Come on! Give way already!" Shinji grunted with a grimace as he felt the strain of his Eva's efforts through his synchronization. He looked at the readout on his screen. Another layer had been cancelled out. There was only one more to go. "We can do it!" Shinji exclaimed with a grin.

"We're almost there, Mana! We're almost there!" Shinji sang joyously as the final layer neared neutralization. " _I know! How much time before that thing goes off!?_ " Mana asked over the com. Shinji looked at the timer and his eyes widened. "Fifteen seconds!" he replied.

" _What!? Aw, hell! Well, fuck it! If we're gonna die, then we're gonna die taking this fucker out with us!_ " Mana shouted in response over the com.

00:00:15 SECONDS.

The final layer was 90% cancelled out.

00:00:13 SECONDS.

The final layer was 92% cancelled out.

00:00:10 SECONDS.

The final layer was 95% cancelled out.

00:00:07 SECONDS.

The final layer was 98% cancelled out.

00:00:05 SECONDS.

The final layer broke as the N2 mine crashed forward. Zeruel quickly sealed a thin membrane over his core, just as Unit 01 slammed the N2 mine into the beast. " _ **THIS IS FOR REI!**_ " Shinji yelled furiously, just as the weapon detonated. Unit 04 quickly dropped and then raised its A.T. Field to take the brunt of the blast before being sent flying through the air as the cavern was filled with light and a thunderous roar as the weapon exploded.

* * *

**The Command Center, NERV HQ...**

Staring up at the static screen, everyone in the large room gulped and looked around in confusion. "Did... did they get it?" Aoba asked hesitantly as he brought up several of the Geofront's internal security systems to scan the area. He then set the system to deploy an aerial drone inside the Geofront for better visuals.

"Shinji... Mana..." Misato said quietly as she felt her voice get caught in her throat. She felt tears threatening to pour out from her eyes, before she felt a firm but gentle pressure on her right shoulder. She glanced over at Makoto with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sure they made it, Misato," Makoto said to her. "Those Evas are built to take at least fifty of those mines at point blank range. This was just one. Trust me; they're still alive," Makoto said with a reassuring smile, just as static started up on the coms.

" _This... this is Sergeant Mana Kirishima. C-Can anyone hear me? Can anyone hear me, over?_ " Mana asked over the com. "M-Mana!? Mana, this is Misato! We hear you, Mana!" Misato said joyously into her headset. "Mana, how's Shinji!? Can you contact him?" Misato asked, forgetting that Maya Ibuki had access to the Eva pilots' health monitors just a few feet away.

" _I haven't tried yet. I'm still waiting for the smoke to clear. Holy shit, Major, give that boy a medal. Even_ _ **I**_ _wouldn't have tried something THAT ballsy_ ," Mana replied over the com. " _No, wait... actually, I would have done that. I would have **totally**  done something that... n-no. No! NO! NO!_" Mana began to shout over the com, confusing everyone, until the main screen showed the dust settling to reveal the large monolithic black and white figure in the center.

"I-I-Impossible!" Ritsuko exclaimed from where she was standing. "That was a point-blank blast from an N-Two mine!" she added. Zeruel stood in the center of the screen, his body almost without any scratches, revealing the thin membrane that had covered his core to be almost indestructible.

"Yeah, well... the Third Angel also took-no... no that was a  _mid-air detonation_ , not point-blank," Misato reminded herself. "Oh god... we're  _fucked_ ," Misato whimpered in fear.

Meanwhile, with narrowed eyes, Gendo watched the screen intently as the smoke continued clearing to reveal the blacked but still intact form of Unit 01 lying on the ground. "Lieutenant Ibuki, what is the status of Corporal Ikari?" Gendo asked.

"Uh... his vitals are steady, but he seems to be unconscious. It looks like he's slowly coming to, but I can't be too sure. All signs point to a sympathetic concussion shared with Unit One from the force of the blast," Maya reported. Gendo watched as Zeruel slowly approached the fallen Eva and raised its sheet arms.

"De-synchronize him! Do it NOW!" Gendo snapped as his previously-believed-to-be dead paternal instincts slowly woke up from their decade-long coma. "Lieutenant, now!" Gendo added impatiently as the Angel's arms coiled themselves in preparation to strike.

"Cutting synchronization... now!" Maya reported, just as Zeruel snapped his arms forward, decapitating Unit 01.

"L-Lieutenant... what is the status of Corporal Ikari?" Gendo asked slowly.

Maya looked at Shinji's health readouts. "He's... alive, sir. We de-synchronized him just in time, but I'm afraid he's still unconscious," Maya replied.

"So then... it's all up to Unit Four, isn't it?" Fuyutsuki said with a sigh.

"No," Gendo said as he stood up from his seat. "Professor, stay here and keep things running. Doctor Akagi," Gendo said as he walked over to the railing of the platform. Ritsuko looked up at him. "I am going to activate Unit Two using the Dummy System. Whatever objections you may have, I suggest saving them for later. Shinji was indeed correct; desperate times call for desperate measures," Gendo said before walking over to the door and leaving the room.

* * *

**The Geofront, Outside NERV HQ...**

Mana looked at the main screen of her entry plug, before glancing at the timer on her screen for the internal battery. The countdown timer read T-MINUS 02:36:27 SECONDS, or two hours, thirty-six minutes, and twenty-seven seconds of power left. With the exception of her time inside Leliel, Mana had never gone this long relying solely on the internal battery before now.

Returning her focus to the monolithic beast on her screen, she frowned. "Okay. Okay, asshole. I guess this is how it's gonna be," Mana said as she inhaled shakily. She was now completely alone, with no one to help her if she fucked up. "It's just you... and me," she said before taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling.

"Let's dance."

Pushing Unit 04 towards the Angel, Mana let out an anguished roar as she engaged the enemy in what could very well become her final battle.

* * *

[Track 08 (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-x4ynnRrZw)

**The Eva Hangar, NERV HQ...**

"It won't work!" a technician called out as Unit 02 once again rejected the Dummy Plug.

"Try it again! This time at stage One-Zero-Eight!" Gendo called out from the observation room.

"Come on, Kyoko! If You don't accept this, then your daughter and grandchild will surely die," Gendo muttered as he looked at the red-armored Eva. "Is your soul still so fractured?" he then asked curiously under his breath.

" _Commander! It's rejecting the plug again!_ " another technician called out over the radio.

"Dammit!" Gendo spat, before he heard a loud crashing sound as the base shook. "It's entering the base. Dammit, Kyoko! Why won't you help us!?" Gendo hissed at the Eva, before the door behind him slid open. Turning around, Gendo saw the last face he expected to see again today.

Panting from running through the base and holding a hand against the door frame, Asuka stared at Gendo with a determined expression. "Commander!" Asuka shouted.

"Lieutenant Sohryu," Gendo said in acknowledgement.

"Commander... let me pilot Unit Two!" Asuka pleaded.

"Are you sure? In your condition-" "Yes! I'm sure! I'm the only one who can do it! I have to do it! If I don't... then we're all dead," Asuka said with a deep breath. "Please... let me pilot Unit Two," she begged once more. "Just one last time," she added.

Gendo slowly nodded his head at the young woman, who quickly exited the room and made her way to the nearest entrance to the holding cage.

"Attention, prepare Unit Two for pilot usage!" Gendo said as he grabbed a speaker system. "Prepare Unit Two for its designated pilot."

* * *

**Outside In the Geofront...**

Unit 04 landed another punch into Zeruel's face before it bit down on its hand. "Grrraaaagh!" Mana screamed in her entry plug. "You fuck!" she swore indignantly before she landed another solid blow to the side of the creature's pudgy neck. Zeruel let go of Unit 04's hand before rushing forward and slamming himself into the silver Eva.

Unit 04 was knocked back and rolled over on the ground, before Zeruel launched a sheet arm forward and grabbed the Eva by its left leg, lifting it into the air and tossing it around like a rag doll. After slamming the Eva into the pyramid, Zeruel tossed it to the side and watched as it rolled over. The Eva began struggling to push itself up from the ground.

As the Eva struggled, Zeruel returned his attention to the pyramid. His eyes began to glow, as did his mouth. A minute, later, just as Unit 04 finally pushed itself up off the ground to stand up on shaky legs, Zeruel unleashed his attack. The pyramid exploded in a giant crucifix of light, causing Unit 04 to fall over from the shock wave.

Looking down at the massive crater into NERV HQ he had created, Zeruel wished he had the ability to grin. Alas, he could not grin, and so he simply lowered himself onto all fours and began to slowly descend into Humanity's last fortress. Lilith, the  _real Lilith_ , was close. He could sense her.

"N-No!" Mana cried out inside the entry plug. "No, get away from them! You stay away from them!" she screamed. "Misato! Misato, evacuate the base! Evacuate the base! Get everyone out of there! Get everyone out of there NOW!" Mana shouted into the com as she struggled to pushed Unit 04 back up from the ground. She was starting to feel fatigued from the battle.

* * *

**The Command Center, NERV HQ...**

"Move! Move it!" Misato shouted at the technicians who were starting to close up their stations. "We'll all make our way to one of the main shafts before initiating the Armageddon Protocol!" Misato shouted from her wheelchair. "Makoto, you and the others leave too! I'll stay here to oversee the evacuation," Misato said.

"Negative, Major," Makoto said, shaking his head. "There's no way you'd be able to get out of here in time. And even then... there's no way that any of  _us_  would be able to escape in time either. I won't let you go it alone. If you plan on dying, you'll do so with someone by your side. You shouldn't have to face the end all by yourself," Makoto said firmly.

"M-Makoto..." Misato trailed off, just another another tremor shook the base, followed by another one, along with a loud crashing sound. " _Eat this, you swine!_ " Mana shouted over the com as her battle with the Angel raged on throughout the base. Loud booming crashes and tremors shook the base as the Eva and Zeruel took their fight into the very heart of Humanity's last line of defense.

"Maya! I want the health data on the remaining pilots synced up to a portable computer system! We need to-" Misato was interrupted as the main screen began to crack. "W-What the?" she asked as a loud tremor shook the room. Another tremor rang out, as Mana's voice could be heard screaming on the com system.

And then... the screen began to crack, and the silver form of Unit 04 broke through it. The giant cyborg fell backwards as Zeruel knocked into it, sending the Eva sprawling against the command tower. "M-Mana! Mana!" Misato cried out.

"H-Her v-vitals are... sh-she's alive, but unconscious!" Maya shouted from her post, before the mechanical hiss of Zeruel's voice caught their attention. The Angel began moving forward, looking down on the command staff before it. The Angel's eyes began to glow, filled with sadistic glee as it prepared to wipe out the humans in front of it.

Misato clutched at her crucifix pendant, given to her by her late father, with white knuckles as her face blanched in fear. Standing up, Makoto stepped in front of her as a shield. He knew that it wouldn't do any good, but it was the only thing that he could think of doing to bring one last ounce of comfort to Misato.

Just as Zeruel's eyes glowed brighter than any star, the wall to the side of the room began to crack, drawing Zeruel's attention. A second later, the wall exploded as a giant red figure burst through it. "Asuka!?" Misato shouted incredulously as Unit 02 grabbed Zeruel with both arms.

Inside the entry plug, still wearing her casual clothes but with her hair tied into a ponytail, Asuka snarled at the Angel. "This is for Toji!" Asuka shouted furiously as she delivered a blow to the side of the Angel's mask, disorienting it before grabbing it again and pushing it into the next wall, crashing through to the other side.

Continuing to push the Angel, Unit 02 kicked at Zeruel, knocking him onto his side before he righted himself. Stunned by the ferocity with which this newest opponent was attacking him, Zeruel was caught off guard. Unit 02 lunged forward and shoved both armored hands against the Angel, pushing the beast away from the control room.

The surviving command staff watched as the red Eva pushed the Angel back further into the base. Walls crumbled and wires snapped as the Angel was forcefully pushed into section after section of the structure. After briefly being pushed back from the Angel, Unit 02 angled itself and body slammed the Angel, knocking the beast further back and into another wall before making a sharp turn to change their course.

" _Misato! I'm taking the bastard to the secondary holding cages! Prepare the lifts! All of them! I don't know which one I'll be using_ ," Asuka shouted over the com.

"Maya! Prepare the lifts in the secondary cage!" Misato shouted. Maya nodded her head and accessed the controls for the second holding area.

Meanwhile, in the entry plug of Unit 02, Asuka grinned viciously as she pushed Unit 02 as far as she'd ever pushed it. The red Eva ducked a sheet arm before lunging forward, slamming a fist into Zeruel's torso. Zeruel's eyes glowed and Unit 02 deployed its A.T. Field to briefly counter the attack before lunging forward again, hooking its fingers into the beast and pushing it back through another wall.

After finally breaching the wall of the holding area, Unit 02 dove forward and delivered blow after blow to the Angel, ducking and weaving to avoid the beast's arms. Asuka had never felt so in tune with her Eva, as the emotions rushing through her fed into her synchronization to increase it to new heights. Seeing the deployment platforms in the distance, Asuka flashed a feral grin before forcing Unit 02 to grab Zeruel by the mouth and push the beast back into the platform.

"Misato! Launch us now!" Asuka shouted into the com. " _Right away!_ " Misato replied before the platform lit up and shot into the air. The metal of the platform screeched as the weight of the two giants caused it to put additional friction against the rails and cables pulling it up through the dark shaft. Sparks lit up the interior of the shaft as Unit 02 headbutted Zeruel and the platform shuddered from the impact.

**The Geofront...**

A large hole opened up in the ground outside the remains of the great pyramid, and Unit 02 shot up out of the ground while holding on to Zeruel. Inside the entry plug Asuka let out a savage battle cry as she forcing Unit 02 to slam the Angel into the ground nearby. With more room to maneuver, Unit 02 was able to roll over before getting up and delivering a swift kick to the Angel.

Zeruel hissed in agitation before grabbing Unit 02's leg with one of his arms and tossing the red cyborg into the air. Unit 02 sailed through the air before landing in a roll, quickly righting itself and shooting forward, sprinting to reach Zeruel. Angling itself, Unit 02 slammed into the side of Zeruel and knocked him over onto his back.

Unit 02 jumped onto the Angel and grabbed Zeruel's mask while using a foot to keep pressure on the beast. Unit 02 pulled the mask, stretching Zeruel's neck further and further. "That's it! Just a little more!" Asuka sneered as she prepared to rip the Angel's head from its body.

Zeruel's neck was almost stretched to full length now, and Asuka could see victory in her grasp. Reaching up and retrieving her progressive knife from her left shoulder pylon, she began stabbing it into the Angel's neck repeatedly. "This is for Toji! This is for Shinji! This is for Mana! This is for Rei! This is for Mari! And this... is for me!" she roared victoriously as she pulled the blade out one last time and prepared to cut it across Zeruel's throat. And then the lights went out in the entry plug.

Powering down from depleting its internal batteries, Unit 02 slumped over, before Zeruel pushed the red giant off of him and onto the ground. It used one of its arms to pick up the knife and toss it over into the nearby lake. Rising up into the air, Zeruel focused on healing his injuries before he glared down at the motionless red cyborg on the ground.

"No! No! No!" Asuka cried out in horror inside the entry plug. "Please! Turn back on! Turn back on! I was so close! I almost had it! I almost had it!" Asuka whined as she felt the Eva shudder. With the lack of power, her synchronization had been cut down as well. Realizing that she was powerless, Asuka removed her A-10 connectors to prevent any sympathetic injuries through the Eva.

"I... I  _failed_ ," Asuka gasped with a shudder. She soon curled herself up into a fetal position as she waited for the inevitable to happen. "I'm sorry, baby," Asuka whimpered as she placed a hand protectively over her abdomen. "Mommy's sorry, baby. Mommy's  _so sorry_ ," she apologized again to her unborn and still-developing child. She had failed... and the Angel had  _won_.

Meanwhile, outside on the terrain near the destroyed pyramid's remaining sections, the surviving command staff, excluding Fuyutsuki and Gendo, had gathered onto a personnel platform with several laptops. "Look, over there!" Ritsuko shouted as she used her good arm and hand to point at Zeruel, who was busy slamming fist after fist down onto Unit 02's armor, slowly cutting it open. The Angel used his arms to slice section after section of the armor, taking his time as he savored his victory.

"What's Kirishima's status!?" Ritsuko asked Maya as she rushed over to the younger woman to look at her laptop screen. "She's regaining consciousness, but her other vital signs show that she's too worn out. Even if she manages to get up... she won't be able to do much except get knocked down again at this rate," Maya said forlornly. With Unit 02 down, the still-intact Unit 04, with its prototype internal battery giving it another hundred or so minutes of operation power remaining, was their only hope... or so they thought.

As Zeruel continued to slowly peel back layer after layer of armor from Unit 02, the occupant of Unit 00 began to stir. Slowly opening her eyes with a groan, Rei sat up and looked around the interior of her entry plug. "W-What? What happened?" Rei asked rhetorically, before the memory of the battle came back to her.

With a startled gasp, she looked around for signs of power in the entry plug. She saw a handful of scattered lights indicating that a few external cameras and com systems still had power, along with a few emergency systems, such as extended life support, but the main system for controlling Unit 00 was offline. Accessing the backup com system, Rei spoke into it.

"This is Corporal Ayanami, calling Sergeant Kirishima. Sergeant Kirishima, please respond," Rei requested through the com. A faint groan could be heard over the com, but it was unintelligible, as Mana was currently disoriented and fatigued from her exhaustive battle with Zeruel. Rei then activated the external camera systems to scan the battlefield.

Her eyes widened as she realized that she had somehow ended up in the Geofront. Using the camera's controls to look up, she saw the gaping hole in the armor layers, explaining how her Eva had arrived at its current location. Panning the camera around to see the destroyed defense systems and the scarred interior of the grand cavern, Rei soon gasped as she saw the headless body of Unit 01 lying on the ground.

"Sh-Shinji?" Rei asked. She quickly turned the com to a private channel after hearing only static. "Shinji, please respond," Rei requested. Again, there was no response. "Sh-Shinji? Please, you're alarming me," Rei pleaded, tears beginning to form around her eyes. "Shinji? Shinji!? Shinji!" Rei cried as she received no response from the decapitated Unit 01's entry plug.

" _No_ ," Rei gasped as she began to assume the worst. "Shin...Shinji! Shinji!  _SHINJIIIIII!_ " Rei cried out before she panned the external cameras around to show Zeruel attacking Unit 02. That strange, primal feeling she had felt in the past began to return to her as anger began to surface. Rei's eyes narrowed as tears streamed down her face. "You... you  _killed_  Shinji," Rei spat with venom in her voice.

Slowly, her sync rate began to climb. "You killed Shinji!  _YOU KILLED MY SHINJI!_ " Rei shouted furiously as her sync rate soon skyrocketed. "I need power! Give me power!  _ **GIVE! ME! POWEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRR!**_ " Rei screamed at Unit 00 as she seethed with anger and hatred for the Fourteenth Angel.

Outside, Maya Ibuki looked down at her laptop to see an alert for Unit 00 appear. "Unit Zero? Major! Sempai!" Maya called out excitedly, grabbing everyone's attention. Makoto wheeled Misato over to Maya's position for a better look.

"Unit Zero is showing activity! Rei's awake!" Maya exclaimed optimistically. Grabbing a headset, Maya handed it to Misato. "Here," Maya said with a nod.

"Rei? Rei, this is Misato! Are you okay?" Misato asked into the com. " _You'll PAAAYYYYY!_ " Rei screamed. Misato's eyes widened as she processed Rei's anguish-filled declaration. She had never heard the girl express this much emotion, despite the amount of progress she had made over the past year and a half.

"Misato, what was that?" Makoto asked, having heard a shriek over the headset.

"R-Rei! Rei, what's wrong!?" Misato asked, before she glanced around and finally noticed the decapitated Unit 01. Her eyes widened in realization as she put the puzzle pieces together in her head. "Rei! Shinji isn't dead! He's not dead!" Misato shouted into the com.

All Misato could hear was Rei's constant growling and declarations. The girl didn't even notice that she was being spoken to. "Uh-oh. This isn't good," Maya said worriedly.

"What isn't good? What's wrong?" Makoto asked as he knelt down next to Maya.

"Look! Her sync rate is rising into the hundreds! She's currently at two hundred percent! No, two-thirty! It keeps rising!" Maya exclaimed worriedly.

"What!?" Ritsuko asked in shock before she rushed over and looked at the graph. "Oh no! At this rate, she'll be... Rei, stop!" Ritsuko shouted, before Misato handed her the headset.

Grabbing the headset, Ritsuko shouted into it. "Rei, calm down! Please, calm down!" Ritsuko begged as she watched Rei's synchronization rise higher and higher. "Rei! If you go too high, you'll forfeit your humanity and be absorbed into the Eva's core! You need to stop!" Ritsuko cried out into the headset. It was no use, though as Rei was far beyond caring about her own safety by this point.

Unit 00's eye shot open and glowed as Rei awakened it from its slumber. Inside the entry plug, Rei grinned as she felt the Eva stand up, and she looked out at the battlefield. Grinning sadistically at letting her inner beast loose, Rei felt a part of her that had been locked away suddenly spring free. She was finally letting her Angelic half take over, and the power she felt flowing through her was intoxicating. Her eyes began to glow and her blue hair shone brightly in the entry plug as she prepared to crack her knuckles, as she had seen Asuka and Mari both do on occasions when they were preparing to achieve something for themselves in the past, back during happier times.

However, Rei soon felt that something was off. Looking down, she saw her plug suit's sleeves going limp, and she felt her body begin to hyper-synchronize.  _I have gone too far! I have gone too far!_  Rei's eyes widened as she felt a stinging sensation in her head, before she let loose a terrible cry.

[Track 09 (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ifDeFb0ngc)

"Hhhuuurrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrghgh!" Rei/Unit 00 roared as it reached up and tore away the mouth guard from its helmet, revealing a set of teeth that included some sharp canines. Its lips soon covered those teeth, as Unit 00's mouth guard was much less refined than those of the other Evas. However, at feeling the air flow through its mouth and around its tongue, the awakened beast opened its mouth again to breathe in the air of the Geofront, tasting the blood and smoke that filled the cavern.

Zeruel stopped his attack on Unit 02, having just partially revealed the Eva's core, before turning to face the berserk Unit 00. The yellow Eva began to drool as it flashed a feral grin at Zeruel and assumed a four-limbed posture on the ground. The Eva licked its teeth and lips with its tongue while its large singular eye glowed red.

Tired of being interrupted in his journey, Zeruel sent a sheet arm forward at Unit 00, which held up a hand and cut through the sheet before grabbing it and pulling Zeruel forward. Zeruel let out a cry of surprise as he slammed into Unit 00, which lifted up a leg and kicked him away, tearing his arm apart. Zeruel let out a mechanical shriek of pain, before Unit 00 lunged at him, tackling him to the ground.

Unit 00 snarled and bit down around Zeruel's neck, causing the Angel to hiss before firing its eye beams, pushing the Eva back. Forcing himself upright, Zeruel fired his bolts again and again at Unit 00, which simply weaved back and forth to dodge them before slamming into Zeruel, knocking the Angel over. Unit 00 grinned as it watched its prey struggle to right himself.

Assuming a crouching posture, Unit 00 began to crawl forward like a predator approaching its prey. Zeruel noticed the Eva and began to raise himself into the air to escape the feral beast. Unit 00 let out a sharp bark before rushing forward and leaping into the air, its limbs outstretch as it latched onto Zeruel's hide.

Zeruel let out a cry of pain as Unit 00 bit down into his back and tore a chunk of flesh out, chewing it and swallowing before repeating the action. Zeruel screamed as he felt the Eva eat him alive, before he flew forward and angled himself to slam into the side of the cavern wall repeatedly in an attempt to dislodge the monster. Unit 00 did not let go.

The Eva continued ripping chunks of flesh out of Zeruel's back and eating them as the Angel used his other arm to slash at Unit 00's body, scratching it and drawing blood with deep cuts in various places. Finally, Zeruel tilted himself on his side, finally causing Unit 00 to lose its grip before falling to the ground. Hovering in the air, Zeruel breathed in relief as he focused on trying to heal his wounds, before Unit 00 leaped up from the ground and latched onto Zeruel's abdomen.

Unit 00 howled before it grabbed the membrane covering the Angel's core and tugged at it before Zeruel began to plummet to the ground below in an attempt to crush the Eva. The two opponents crashed into the ground with tremendous force. Shock waves rolled through the hills and valleys below, causing Misato to fall over in her wheelchair.

As the humans below started to catch themselves upright again, they saw Unit 00 tearing into Zeruel as it pushed the Angel onto his back. Unit 00 grabbed the arm of the Angel and twisted it before ripping it free, holding it in one hand. The giant cyclops drooled as it grinned at the sight of Zeruel's exposed core. It was bright red, just like the color of blood and meat. Unit 00 licked its teeth and lips in anticipation of its meal.

"Ritsuko! Can you get a hold of Rei in there!?" Misato asked from her wheelchair.

"N-No! She... she... she's no longer human, Misato," Ritsuko sobbed. "She's... she's become one with the Eva. She's been absorbed into its core," Ritsuko elaborated in anguish. Misato's eyes widened in horror as she processed Ritsuko's words, before she looked back over at the sight of the two Angels attacking each other.

As Zeruel let out a weak mechanical cry of fear, Unit 00 hissed before diving forward and grabbing the core. Zeruel shrieked as he angled his neck to attack with his eyes. Twin lasers shot forth from both eyes, cutting into Unit 00's shoulder pylons. Looking up at the Zeruel's face, Unit 00 snarled at the Angel before it lunged forward and bit down onto Zeruel's throat. Blood spilled as Unit 00's teeth sank into the Angel's flesh, and it soon heard tendons snap and muscles pull before it finally tore away a chunk of the Angel's throat, letting blood splash onto it's yellow armor.

Zeruel quickly focused on trying to heal his wound, until Unit 00 picked up the severed sheet arm from the ground and held it in both hands. A vicious smile appeared on Unit 00's face as it approached Zeruel's throat. Zeruel, realizing what the Evangelion was planning, began preparing a desperate attack to fend off the beast. Seeing Zeruel's eyes being to glow again, Unit 00 lunged forward with lightning fast speed and held the sheet firmly before slicing it into Zeruel's throat, sawing it back and forth until the Angel's head fell from its bloody neck stump.

Inside Unit 02's entry plug, Asuka watched on an external camera as the yellow Eva displayed an untamed savagery that Asuka had never witnessed in an Eva before now, save for when the Dummy System had been activated.

 _I am the Dummy System. It is a part of me that I fear_ , Asuka remembered hearing Rei tell her just days earlier. "Oh my god," Asuka muttered in horrified realization.

Meanwhile, back out on the landscape, Unit 00 continued feasting on Zeruel, as the headless Angel's struggling soon ceased. Satisfied that its opponent was dead, Unit 00 attacked the core with its blood-stained arm sheet and broke it into pieces before consuming it. It then began ripping out the Angel's insides and devouring them like a wild animal after tossing the sheet arm to the side.

Everyone in the Geofront was silent as they watched the brutal scene play out. Ignoring the humans and the other Evas in the Geofront, Evangelion Unit 00 simply feasted on the warm flesh of its dead opponent. When the beast was finally sated, it let out a victorious howl, one which sent shivers down the spines of every person who heard it, especially Misato, who was instantly reminded of a similar creature that she had seen in Antarctica nearly twenty years earlier.

Regaining her composure, a tear ran down Misato's cheek as she mournfully whispered a single name.

" _Rei..._ "

* * *

 **ENDING THEME:** ** _[Ashes (Right click and open in new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6eMBvMuZ6A)_ , by Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori, from ** _**Halo: Reach** _ **(2010)**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, with the battle against Zeruel now over, the surviving staff of NERV and remaining citizens of Tokyo-3 begin trying to put their lives back together. Meanwhile, trapped inside Unit 00's core, Rei must come to terms with who and what she is if she wishes to return to the outside world...  _if_  she can return at all.

* * *

**Alternate Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Interference of Others/Tanin no Kansho_  (Evacuation begins),  **02**.  _Winged Serpent_  (Zeruel arrives/Judgement Day)  **03**.  _At Any Cost_  (Evas launched/The battle begins),  **04**.  _The Aggressor_  (Zeruel versus Unit 00 and Unit 05),  **05**.  _Code Red_  (Asuka and Kaji race to NERV HQ/Jet Alone arrives/Zeruel vs. Unit 05 and Unit 01),  **06**.  _Les Betes 2.0_  (Zeruel vs. Everyone),  **07**.  _Dead Rain_  (Shinji's desperate maneuver),  **08**.  _2EM34_E13_  (Mana's desperate battle/Asuka's return),  **09**.  _False Regeneration/Itsuwari no Saisei_  (Unit 02 vs. Zeruel),  **10**.  _The Eighth Spirit_  (Rei's recovery/Rei's despair),  **11**.  _Rei III_  (Unit 00 versus Zeruel).

 **ALTERNATE ENDING THEME:** _**Sakura Nagashi** _ **, by Utada Hikaru**

* * *

Author's Notes: And that was Episode 19 of Rewired, and... holy shit, Episode 19 of NGE  _also_  was the battle with Zeruel!

Anyway, Unlike Bardiel, who I gave thoughts to, along with a rewritten personality, I decided to keep Zeruel pretty much as identical as possible while only adding a bit more variety to his fighting style. Personally, I find Zeruel to be the most fearsome of the Angels in the Evangelion franchise.

So, Rei is now trapped in the core of Unit 00. In the next episode, she'll meet the soul that inhabits that core. Now, whose soul is in there? Is it Rei-I? Naoko Akagi? Some poor sap who got grabbed off the streets in the dead of night a decade earlier? Another Rei clone? Unit 00's own soul?

Please let me know whose soul you think is in Unit 00 in your reviews, or just P.M. me as well.

I'd like to mention that Shinji's behavior towards the end of this episode isn't meant to show that he's become a badass. I mean, his actions are certainly badass, but the reason for him taking an N2 Mine to the Angel is that he's been  _pushed to the point of **desperation**_  by the Angel. By the end of this episode, every surviving character is worn out, fatigued, unconscious, or severely injured. Basically, Bardiel and Zeruel have pushed NERV and its personnel to the point of desperation, to the point that they're too exhausted to think rationally or plan anything else. I hope that the feeling of desperation was properly evoked by the time the episode ended.

Also, I'd like to talk about the music I listened to and recommended for this episode, as this will be the last time I truly recommend any music while reading this story until Episodes 23 and 24 come along. I chose  _Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within_  as the primary source of listening music because it carries that feeling of dread and ambiance that feels like  _Alien 3: Version 2_  or something.  _Dead Rain_ , which played during the death of the Deep Eyes squad, is probably my favorite piece, although the version featured on the CD I bought is a bit different from the version heard in the movie. I chose  _Winged Serpent_  for Zeruel's arrival because... just listen to it, and you get that feeling of impending doom mixed with a sense of awe and power. But, the main thing I want to talk about is the choice of music for Unit 00's awakening.

In the pre-story track listing I chose  _Sin From Genesis_  from  _Rebuild Of Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance_  (2009), because it fucking rocks... and I wanted to make it a red herring so that you guys wouldn't expect Unit 00 to be the one to kill Zeruel, at least not right away. If I had chosen  _Rei-III_  at the start, you all would have immediately guessed it and realized what would happen, ruining any kind of tension during Unit 00's initial fight with Zeruel. I chose  _Rei-III_  in the alternate listing because that was the track I had intended to recommend all along, as it represented Rei letting loose her Angelic side and finally displaying her power... sort of.

I chose the track  _Munashiki Nagare/The Passage Of Emptiness_  for Asuka's battle against Zeruel because, well... it's going to be her  _last battle_  in an Eva after this point. This track played during Asuka's final battle in  _End of Evangelion_ , during her fight with the Mass Production Evangelions... along with that string piece by Bach. But the best part of it is when the track reaches that crescendo around 04:09, and then  _stops_ , which I think fits perfectly with Asuka's near victory just before Unit 02 loses power. I chose  _False Regeneration_  as the alternate track because I think it fits with Asuka's determination and return to the battlefield in a triumphant manner, creating the sense that Asuka can triumph over her foe, which... well, you all read the episode and saw how things turned out.

For the ending music, I chose  _Ashes_  from  _Halo: Reach_  because it's a very sad and haunting piece of music, especially with its combination of piano and choir, and it creates a sense of mourning in the listener. I chose  _Sakura Nagashi_  as the alternate ending because I feel it perfectly captures the intense emotions that I hoped this episode and the story so far have evoked.

As a small note, I would like to say that, had Asuka not run out of power at the worst possible moment, she  _would_  have won the fight with Zeruel. Out of all of the pilots in this this story, Asuka is still the best of them, with Mana coming in close as the second best. Mana has the deadliest skill set and the most combat training, but Asuka is far more versatile and opportunistic as a fighter, and is perfectly capable of fighting with only brute strength if necessary, even if she has other options, while Mana relies more on strategy and only engages an enemy with close combat as a last resort. In general, Asuka is the all around better pilot, while Mana comes in very close behind her.

So, as I usually beg of my readers, please let me know what you think of the episode the story so far in your reviews, and don't forget to guess whose soul is inhabiting Unit 00's core! I might throw in some  _fanservice_ ** in the following episode as well if I get more than two reviews for this one!

**Please note that fanservice is not guaranteed. Limits and restrictions may apply to the levels of perceived fanservice per reader depending on their geographic location. Full delivery of fanservice is not covered under warranty, and future deliveries of fanservice may be dropped at any time due to shoddy writing and/or poor network coverage.


	20. The Mother, The Clone, & The Unholy Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zeruel has been defeated, but at the cost of Rei being trapped inside the core of Unit 00. Meanwhile, Asuka and the others begin trying to piece their lives back together in the aftermath of the Angel's devastating attack.

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters therein are the intellectual property of Studio Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

This episode is going to be a partial breather episode, following the non-stop action of the previous episode.

Music I listened to while writing this includes  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009) by Shiro Sagisu & Masamichi Amano & Yoichi Murata,  _Balto_  (1995) by the late James Horner,  _The Secret Of NIMH Speical Intrada Release_  (1982/2015) by the late Jerry Goldsmith,  _Red Planet_  (2000) by Graeme Revell,  _AVALON_  (2001) by Kenji Kawai, and  _Halo: Reach_  (2010) by Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori.

Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is  _ **not**_  a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.

Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.

Music From  _Balto_  (1995):  _Reach For The Light_  (Performed by Steve Winwood),  _Heritage Of The Wolf_ ,  _Jenna / Telegraphing For News._

Music From  _AVALON_  (2001):  _Murphy's Ghost_ ,  _City 13_ ,  _Nine Sisters_ ,  _Gray Lady (Ash)_ ,  _Tir Na mBam_  (yes, that is the actual track name),  _Voyage To AVALON._

Music From  _Red Planet_  (2000):  _Alone_ ,  _Mars Red Planet._

Music From  _Evangelion Wind Symphony_  (2009):  _F02 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1._

Music From  _The Secret Of NIMH_  (1982/2015):  _House Raising_ ,  _Flying Dreams ~ Lullaby_  (performed by Sally Stevens),  _Flying High/End Title_ ,  _Step Inside My House_ ,  _No Thanks._

Music From  _Halo: Reach_  (2010):  _Ashes_ ,  _We Remember_ ,  _Epilogue_ ,  _We're Not Going Anywhere_ ,  _Ghosts And Glass_ ,  _At Any Cost_ ,  _Walking Away_.

**Track Order Listing - All After Opening Theme And Before Ending Theme**

**01**.  _Ashes_  (Aftermath of Zeruel battle/Collateral damage calculated),  **02**.  _Gray Lady (Ash)_  (Failed recovery/Rei in the core),  **03**.  _Jenna / Telegraphing For News_  (Maya's optimism/Next recovery attempt),  **04**.  _Step Inside My House_  (Rei meets the soul of Unit 00/Lilith Emerges),  **05**.  _Ghosts And Glass_  (Shinji begins to break/Ritsuko's dilemma),  **06**.  _Tir Na mBan_  (Misato confronts Ritsuko/Ritsuko's confession),  **07**.  _At Any Cost_  (Fifteenth recovery attempt),  **08**.  _Alone_  (Shinji's heartbreak),  **09**.  _House Raising_  (Final recovery attempt/Expulsion).

**Music After Ending Theme**

**10**.  _F02 - Preview Of Next Time Take 1_.

* * *

**OPENING THEME: A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit - Ayanami Version), Performed by Megumi Hayashibara**

* * *

**Episode 20: The Mother, The Clone, And The Unholy Spirit**

* * *

**Tokyo-3, Sunday Morning, January 24, 2044**

Numerous emergency vehicles and rescue crews lined the streets of Tokyo-3 as they sifted through rubble to clear out the exits of the emergency shelters. In other parts of the city, numerous crushed vehicles had been towed away from the sidewalks to make room for emergency crews as they tried to find survivors who hadn't been able to reach any of the shelters in time. Currently, at least two hundred and thirty corpses had been found among the rubble of various buildings, with at least another hundred found near the congested and destroyed freeway among the numerous burnt and ruined vehicles that had been stuck there.

While the fires had been put out overnight, many structures were still deemed too dangerous to enter even for emergency crews, as some of the buildings had begun collapsing on themselves from the damage they had accumulated. Some buildings had been scorched and deemed to be damaged beyond repair, despite still standing. Other buildings, however... were simply smoldering piles of melted metal and concrete.

NERV work crews had already managed to drag pieces of Unit 05 back into the Geofront, thanks to a (fortunately) still conscious Mari Illustrious Makinami volunteering to use Unit 04 after a fatigued and barely-awake Mana Kirishima had been retrieved from the still-intact Eva's entry plug. Currently, after having secured at least 7 hours of sleep, Mari was using Unit 04 to help rescue crews by moving various debris out of the way, making use of the Eva's prototype battery to maneuver throughout the city without a power cable.

Stepping outside his home near the outskirts of the city, Kensuke Aida looked in the distance at the downtown and business region of the city he lived in. The city had been trashed completely by the Angel during its fight with the Evangelions. With a sigh, Kensuke shook his head in dismay. "I get it now, Shinji. I finally get it," Kensuke said to himself sadly.

Dark clouds were hanging overhead as rescue vehicles traveled down the roads, with construction vehicles following them. While he had been lucky enough to take shelter in the Tokyo-3 High School, which was located far enough away from the main battle field, many of his fellow denizens hadn't been so lucky. At least one shelter had been heavily damaged during the battle, with hundreds of civilians killed as a result.

Kensuke would find out at school whether or not any of his classmates were among the casualties. For now, though, he simply sat down and took out his cell phone to call Hikari and ask her when school would resume. " _It'll be at least two more days, Aida-kun. I... I don't think some of our classmates will be returning for the rest of the school year. Some of our classes are going... they're g-going to be smaller_ ," Hikari said in a somber tone over the phone, and Kensuke could tell that the girl was close to choking up as she relayed the news to him.

"I understand," Kensuke said softly as he looked out at the dark cloudy skies hanging over the cityscape. "I'll see you at school in a couple of days. Take care of yourself until then, Horaki-san. Bye," Kensuke said before hanging up the phone and pulling his legs up to fold his arms over them and provide a resting spot for his chin. "I guess... I guess it was only a matter of time before this happened," Kensuke said sadly to himself.

"This fucking  _sucks_ ," Kensuke spat with a frown as he began thinking about the situation.

* * *

**Misato Katsuragi's Office, NERV HQ, Around Noon...**

"Look at these casualty reports," Misato said with a sigh. "We've never had this many casualties before in a battle," she said. Sitting next to her, 2nd Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga nodded his head in agreement. Technically, the city of Ueda had still suffered more damage and casualties during Bardiel's attack than Tokyo-3 had during Zeruel's attack, but Ueda had not been the site of a major battle. Still, Makoto kept his mouth shut.

Misato then looked over at Makoto with a nervous expression on her face. "Makoto... have you heard any news on Shinji and Mana from the infirmary?" Misato asked him. Makoto shook his head in response.

"I haven't heard anything yet," Makoto said simply. "I  _have_  heard about Makinami, though. She's already been discharged and is using Unit Four to help with emergency crews up topside, and Sohryu is... I'm not sure where Sohryu is right now, but she didn't suffer any serious or life-threatening injuries during the fight. At least, that's what Watarase and Akagi both told me when I asked them about her," Makoto elaborated.

Misato nodded her head in response, before she bit her lip as she prepared to ask her next question. "Makoto... speaking of Ritsuko, have you... have you heard anything from her... about Rei?" Misato asked him.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "She didn't seem particularly willing to talk about that, so I didn't press the issue more than necessary," Makoto said. Misato raised an eyebrow at this.

"Makoto... can you take me to see Rits? I want to speak with her myself," Misato requested. Makoto looked at the paperwork on Misato's desk briefly. "But, what about all of this?" he asked, gesturing to the papers. Misato shrugged her good shoulder in response.

"I'll get to it later. Makoto... I  _need_  to know if Ritsuko can get Rei out of that thing," Misato said as she looked into the man's eyes. "Rei is... she's almost like a daughter to me. Ever since she moved in with me and Shinji, I've seen her open up and grow from a quiet and meek little girl into a happy and caring young woman," Misato said.

"She's like  _family_  to me!" Misato exclaimed pleadingly. Makoto sighed and nodded his head.

"Okay. I'll take you to see Doctor Akagi... and the other pilots, if that'll help," Makoto said. He just couldn't say no to this woman.

Misato smiled at him and nodded her head. "Thank you, Makoto," she said gratefully.

**A Short Time Later, At The Eva Holding Cages...**

"Feedback levels are rising. They're rising! They're ri- _no!_  No, they're falling!" Ritsuko Akagi exclaimed in dismay as she looked at the readings on the terminal in front of her. She slammed a fist down on the console as she saw the readings turn negative once more.

"No! Dammit, come on!" she spat at the computers. "Give her back already!" she snarled as she looked up to see Unit 00 through the safety glass window. " _J-Just... give her back to me_ ," Ritsuko whispered pleadingly.

Soon, Ritsuko heard the door open behind her, and she turned around to see Misato being wheeled into the room by Makoto. "Hey, Rits," Misato said tentatively. Ritsuko nodded her head in acknowledgement of her friend.

"I know what you're about to ask, Misato, and the answer is no. I still haven't been able to get her out of there yet," Ritsuko said with a sigh. Misato frowned and glanced down at the floor before looking back up at Ritsuko.

"How long do you think it'll take?" Misato asked her.

Ritsuko glanced to the side before inhaling and letting out a sigh. Running a hand up through her hair, the scientist groaned in frustration. "I don't know. I honestly don't know," she admitted tiredly.

"Please, Rits, you've gotta try," Misato pleaded. "Shinji hasn't woken up yet, but when he does... this could devastate him," she said. "And... I want her back too," she added.

"She... she's like family to me, Rits! She's like a-a daughter or a younger sister... who I treat like a  _daughter_ , but either way she's important to me!" Misato pleaded. "I need to know that you can get her out of there," she asked.

"Misato, I... I can't promise anything," Ritsuko said with a frown. "My first two attempts have already failed, and... if I push too hard with each attempt, we may just make things more difficult for ourselves," Ritsuko said.

"Come on, Rits! That's not the woman I know," Misato said with a frown. "The Ritsuko I know doesn't give up! The Ritsuko I know is capable of making cereal that catches fire when exposed to milk! If you can do something impossible like  _that_ , then surely you can do  _this!_ " Misato exclaimed.

"It's not that simple!" Ritsuko snapped. "Look... I'm very tired, and I haven't had any sleep since yesterday morning. I... I need to take a break for just a few hours, okay? When I'm ready to try again... I'll call you. But, Misato? I can't promise anything," Ritsuko said as she inhaled. "I don't want to get anyone's hopes up only to dash them," Ritsuko said.

"Fine," Misato said softly. "Hyuga... let's go see the other pilots. I wanna see how Shinji and Mana are doing in the infirmary," Misato requested.

"Okay. We'll go see the other pilots," Makoto said, nodding his head before he turned Misato's wheelchair around and pushed her out the door. When the door closed, Ritsuko simply shook her head.

"Oh boy, she's got him whipped and they aren't even dating," she muttered to herself. "Although... I wonder if... nah, Hyuga doesn't seem like the type to break regulations like that. Not unless... Misato convinced him otherwise," Ritsuko said to herself. She then let out a giggle before walking over to a table and sitting down. "Oooohhhh... I'm so tired. So goddamn tired," Ritsuko muttered to herself, before she took one final look at Unit 00 through the safety glass window and left the lab.

* * *

**Inside The Core Of Evangelion Unit 00**

_I am alone. I am me. I am Rei. Re... Rei... Rei... A... Ak... Ayanami? Ayanami... Rei... Ayanami..._

_The Angel is dead... but I am now trapped in the core of Unit Zero. I am alone... again. I was not bothered by this before, but... I have grown accustomed to being around others. It is not so bad, though. I do not feel any discomfort in here. It is... peaceful_.

Rei felt weightless as she floated in an ocean of LCL. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw what looked like a dark sky above with light reflecting off of a moon into the LCL around her.  _How odd_ , she noted. She soon found herself floating to the surface, breaching the liquid and staring up into the night sky. Feeling a slight chill, she glanced down at her body to see that she was completely naked.

She raised an eyebrow in curiosity before simply shrugging her shoulders while floating. Opening her mouth, she took a breath of... air.  _Strange. If this is the core, then all around me should be LCL, not air. Have I been ejected from the core? Does the soul residing in here... wait, that is the answer! The soul which resides in the core must have constructed this fabrication for themselves. But... I wonder who the soul is? Doctor Akagi and Commander Ikari made it clear that the original Rei was an orphan, so... whose soul is residing in here? This may be my chance to find the answer to that question_ , Rei realized as she rearranged herself vertically in the LCL and looked around, soon noticing that the ocean of LCL was next to a beach.

Leading up from the beach was a set of stone stairs. Rei tilted her head in confusion. The stone walkway led up to a house of some kind on a cliff overlooking the beach. The house appeared to be very modern in design. Looking around the rest of the beach, Rei saw only a forest behind the sand. It was a very beautiful beach, all things considered, and when Rei looked back down at the LCL, she saw that it had taken on a more watery hue. In fact, there was no orange coloration to be seen now.

Narrowing her eyes, Rei decided that the house overlooking the beach would be the most likely place to find the answers to her questions, and so she began to swim towards the beach. With every stroke, Rei found herself getting closer to shore, yet every stroke seemed to draw more strength from her as well. The LCL/water proved to be quite resistant to her efforts, and Rei soon found herself breathing heavily as she tread through the water with determination.

Eventually, after nearly wearing herself out, Rei finally reached the shore. As her feet touched the sandy bottom, she slowly waded through the water one step at a time. Looking around at the trees nearby, she saw a few lamps hanging from the branches. After finally exiting the water, Rei made her way over the underside of a tree, the soft sound of sand beneath her feet audible to her as little else was making noise around her, save for the motion of the ocean behind her.

Looking up at the house on the cliff, Rei began walking forward, slowly making her way up the stone path that led to the front door of the structure. The walk was quiet and slow, as Rei took the time to observe her surroundings. Despite the modern look of the building, there was a quality to it that seemed... old. Something about it seemed to have come from another time.

 _The soul which resides here must have been from a time before Second Impact_ , Rei rationalized. She neglected to take into account the possibility that the soul may have simply had a specific aesthetic preference for their architecture.

As she finally reached the front door, Rei paused. Should she knock on the door or ring the doorbell? She pressed the doorbell first, before she realized that it was only for show. The soul was alone in the core, so who would ever visit them?

Reaching forward, Rei grabbed the handle of the door and pulled, revealing that the door was unlocked. Again, the soul resided in the core alone. Who was going to rob them or intrude?

Stepping inside the house, and soon noticing the lack of sand trailing from her feet or liquid dripping from her body, the naked 17-year old looked around the interior of the home. It was a large house, and the kitchen was obscured by a wall, with only two doorways to enter it, with one being near a staircase. Continuing to walk around the living room, Rei soon noticed some pictures hanging on the walls.

Stepping closer, Rei saw images of people and places she had never seen before. Most of these images were of people who had clearly been alive prior to 2nd Impact. There were men and women in lab coats, including one who looked suspiciously like Asuka.  _Is that... Asuka's mother? The soul which resides here knew Doctor Kyoko Sohryu_ , Rei realized.

 _Therefore... it must be someone who was once affiliated with NERV or GEHIRN_ , she realized. Walking around the house further, Rei stepped into the kitchen, where she saw a stove, an oven, a refrigerator, and several more pictures on a wall. Stepping closer, Rei saw more pictures on the fridge, including a drawing of a cat. Soon, Rei noticed another picture. It was of a little girl with brunette hair and a mole on her face, standing next to an older man who was smiling.

 _Someone affiliated with GEHIRN... and that child must be... Doctor Akagi? So, someone who knew Doctor Akagi in her youth_ , Rei thought. One candidate sprang to mind, but Rei quashed that possibility, as the very thought of that person caused her body to tense in fear. She didn't know why she felt uneasy thinking about the late Naoko Akagi, but something from Rei-I's memories painted the woman in a negative light. There was something from Rei-I's memories that Rei-II just couldn't figure out, as though certain memories were still locked away. All she knew was that Naoko Akagi caused her to feel uneasy.

Stepping away from the fridge, Rei decided to step back into the living room. "Hello?" Rei finally asked out loud. "Hello? Is the soul residing here... present?" Rei asked awkwardly. After not receiving any answer for several minutes, she made her way over to the couch and sat down while observing the various pictures on the walls. She would wait for the soul to make themself known to her on their own terms.

* * *

**The Infirmary, NERV HQ, Later That Afternoon...**

Slowly blinking away the cobwebs of sleep, Shinji Ikari looked up at the increasingly familiar ceiling of the infirmary. With a groan, he slowly sat up in his hospital bed. "Great... I'm in here again," he muttered to himself. Looking around the room, Shinji noticed several empty cots, before his eyes landed on the only other occupied bed in the room.

"Kirishima-san?" Shinji asked quietly as the red-head slept peacefully in her hospital bed, her chest rising and falling with each breath she took. Glancing around the room for any signs of people he may have missed earlier, Shinji once again found himself the only other person in the room. He glanced down at the call buzzer next to his bed and contemplated requesting a nurse.

Looking over his shoulder at Mana, Shinji wondered if he should wait a bit. He then spotted a clock on the wall and noted that it was 18:00 hours.  _Oh, in that case, I think we've both slept enough_ , Shinji thought to himself. Reaching down, he grabbed the buzzer and pressed it.

A few minutes later, a nurse entered the room. Shinji smiled sheepishly at her. "Um... hi. Uh... which way is it to the bathroom?" Shinji asked. The nurse pointed to a door on the far side of the room, before he slowly slid out of the bed, wearing a blue and white striped patient outfit. "Um... can you let Major Katsuragi know that I'm awake. I'd like to see her if it isn't too much trouble," Shinji requested.

The nurse nodded her head and grabbed a phone from the wall before calling someone. As the nurse spoke, Shinji made his way over to the bathroom and closed the door. When he finally returned from the bathroom, he saw that the nurse was still there. "Major Katsuragi will be down here in a few minutes," the nurse said.

"Uh, thank you," Shinji said with a smile and a nod. The nurse nodded back at him before leaving the room. Getting back onto the bed, Shinji looked over at Mana, who was still sleeping. He had to wonder, though. If Mana was still alive, then that meant the Angel had been beaten.  _My plan worked! It actually worked_ , Shinji thought to himself in elation as he leaned back against the bed with a sigh.

He then looked around the room and noticed that he and Mana were the  _only pilots_  he could see. Surely the rest of the Pilot Corps, save Asuka, should have been healing up as well, right? He knew that Mari had been de-synchronized before her Eva had been decapitated, so she wasn't dead, and Rei's Eva had simply run out of power, despite having a building toppled on top of it.

Had they simply not suffered as severely as he and Mana had during the fight? Was that why they weren't there? That would explain Mari's absence, but what about Rei? Rei had made it a habit of waiting by his side when he was in the infirmary.  _Maybe... maybe she's being examined by a doctor somewhere_ , Shinji thought to himself.

Shinji was eventually brought out of his thoughts when the door opened and Misato was wheeled into the room by Makoto Hyuga. "Shinji!" Misato said excitedly as she held out her one good arm. Makoto wheeled her closer to the bed so that she could give Shinji a one-armed hug. Shinji eagerly hugged her back.

"Shinji, you're finally awake!" Misato wept into his shoulder. "I was beginning to worry you wouldn't wake up!" she cried. A tired and groggy groan soon sounded from the other bed, prompting Shinji, Misato, and Makoto to look over in Mana's direction as she started to stir.

"Oh... wha-huh? W-Where... where am I?" Mana asked tiredly as she looked around the room. "M-Major?" Mana asked tiredly as she slowly sat up in the bed. "What happened?" Mana asked hoarsely.

"Makoto, get her some water," Misato said sharply. Makoto nodded his head and grabbed a paper cup from a water cooler nearby and filled it up before taking it over to Mana. Mana tiredly retrieved the cup and drank the water before crumpling the cup in her hands.

"Thank you... uh... Lieutenant... Aoba?" Mana asked carefully, not being entirely familiar with Makoto, but noticing his rank insignia on his uniform.

Makoto nodded his head. "Uh, it's Hyuga," he said, correcting her. Mana nodded her head in return.

"Sorry," Mana apologized.

"It's okay. You're pretty tired after all," Makoto said with a reassuring smile before he made his way back over to Misato's side. "I mean, you've practically been through hell and back, so to speak," he added in an understanding tone of voice.

"So... where are the others? What happened to Makinami-san? Where's Ayanami-san? And what about Sohryu-san? I know she couldn't do any piloting, but please tell me she got to a shelter fast enough," Mana said as she started feeling more awake. She then felt a pressure in her lower abdomen.

"Uh... actually, before you guys answer that, where's the nearest bathroom?" Mana asked. Shinji pointed at the bathroom door on the other side of the room, and Mana quickly got out of the bed before rushing over to the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

"So... since you're both awake, I guess it's time that we... bring you up to speed on what's been going on so far," Misato said with a sigh and a frown. She knew that Shinji was not going to like some of the news she was about to give him.

A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened and Mana made her way back over to her bed before lying back down on it. "I love having working legs! Oh, sorry, Major," Mana said apologetically.

"I'ts all right. I'm not crippled, just slowly recovering. I'm still not cleared to begin physical therapy yet for another three weeks," Misato said. Mana winded sympathetically in response.

"Ouch," Mana said.

"Yeah, but until then I get to be pampered and cared for by Hyuga-kun! So it's not all bad!" Misato said jovially.

"Tell me he doesn't have to wipe your ass for you," Mana said dryly.

"No, I still have a working arm for that," Misato retorted.

"Well, good for him then," Mana said.

"Uh... hey, guys? I'd like to know about the other pilots," Shinji said, speaking up. "What happened to Mari and Rei? Wheres Asuka? Did she get to a shelter in time?" Shinji asked eagerly.

"Okay, one thing at a time," Misato said. "First of all, Mari is still alive. She's currently using Unit Four to help with recovery efforts up topside," Misato elaborated.

Mana blinked at her in confusion. "She's... she's what? He actually accepted her?" Mana asked, puzzled. Misato nodded her head in affirmation, thinking that Mana was referring to the Eva itself. She didn't realize just who Mana was actually referring to with her question.

"Now, onto Asuka," Misato said. "Asuka is also still alive. She was able to make her way down into the Geofront after the alarms went off, so she wasn't topside when the battle started," Misato explained.

Mana and Shinji both nodded their heads in appreciation of the news. "She also... ended up piloting Unit Two in order to stop the Angel after it incapacitated Unit Four," Misato added, causing Shinji to frown in confusion.

"Wait... you mean the N-Two mine didn't do anything to it?" Shinji asked her.

"I'm sorry, Shinji. The Angel was able to cover its core just before the mine went off. Fortunately, you guys  _did_  manage to take down all of its remaining A.T. Fields, or A.T. Field layers. We still haven't figured that out yet," Misato said.

"So, Asuka killed the Angel? I guess... I guess she at least got one last kill before she has to quit piloting, right?" Shinji asked.

"Actually... there's something we need to talk about," Misato said. "Makoto, please make sure the door is closed," Misato asked as she glanced over her shoulder. Makoto nodded his head and walked over to the door to make sure it was sealed before returning to Misato's side.

"Okay, this isn't easy to say," Misato said as she took a deep breath.

"Just tell us," Mana implored her.

"Unit Zero killed the Angel," Misato said.

Mana and Shinji both blinked at her in confusion. "Uh... what?" Mana asked her. She was very certain that Unit 00 had been incapacitated  _and_  drained of primary power. How could it have defeated the Angel after everyone else had failed?

"Did you guys get a backup power cable to the thing?" Mana asked Misato.

"No. The Eva... went berserk," Misato said. Shinji's eyes widened while Mana raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Wait, what do you mean by berserk? You mean like Unit One during my first battle?" Shinji asked Misato quizzically.

"Uh, sort of," Misato replied sheepishly. "See... unlike Unit One's first fight, Rei was able to regain consciousness prior to the Eva berserking. However..."

"However what? Come on, what happened to Rei? Please, is she okay? Where is she?" Shinji asked Misato worriedly.

"There's no easy way to say this, Shinji," Misato said, causing Shinji's eyes to widen with a gasp as he prepared for the worst.

"Rei... After achieving a sync rate of over four hundred, Rei was absorbed into the Eva's core," Misato said, causing Shinji to adopt a curious and bewildered expression.

"She... she what?" he asked Misato in confusion.

"She was  _absorbed?_ " Mana asked. Misato nodded her head.

"That's what Ritsuko said," Misato relayed.

 _Just like all of our parents_ , Mana thought to herself. "So... does Doctor Akagi have a plan for getting Ayanami-san out of there?" Mana asked Misato.

"Well... she's working on it," Misato replied tentatively.

"How long will it take?" Shinji asked Misato.

"I... I don't know. When you've been discharged from here, I'll take you to see Ritsuko and she can tell us everything we need to know," Misato said. Shinji solemnly nodded his head with a sigh.

 _Everything we need to know? Please, Major, we both know that Doctor Akagi won't tell us EVERYTHING_ , Mana thought to herself knowingly.  _I think I need to do more digging around here_ , she thought as Misato pulled Shinji into a hug to comfort him.

* * *

**The Eva Holding Cages And Observation Lab, Later That Night...**

Standing behind Ritsuko were Shinji, Maya, Misato, and Makoto. Mana had decided to go off on her own following her discharge from the infirmary, while Shinji had made it his mission to observe the latest recovery attempt as soon as possible. "Okay, just a few more adjustments and we should be ready for the next attempt," Ritsuko said tiredly as she pressed a few buttons on the console in front of her.

Walking up to the safety glass window, Shinji pressed his hands against it as he looked at the form of Unit 00. The Eva had a large section of bandaging wrapped around its mouth, which Shinji had never seen before. In fact, he had often wondered if the thing even  _had_  a mouth at all, but now he was seeing proof of it as he saw the rows of teeth that formed the beast's almost deranged smile, which reached farther back across its face than any normal human smile.

It certainly gave the cyborg a very unsettling appearance, especially with its one red eye looking directly at the observation room. Now that Shinji paid more attention, he saw that the entire helmet had been removed from the beast, with the entire head being wrapped in large bandage-like strips. "Creepy," Shinji muttered to himself as he took in the sight.

"Doctor Akagi... have you ever done this before?" Shinji asked Ritsuko as she finished making the necessary preparations for the recovery attempt. Ritsuko looked over at Shinji with tired eyes. There were bags under them, showing that she hadn't gotten much sleep.

"Yes. I've done this twice already in the past twenty-four hours," Ritsuko replied.

"No, I mean... have you ever had this happen to anyone else in the past?" Shinji asked her.

"Well... yes," Ritsuko admitted. "Nearly twelve years ago, a certain scientist was absorbed into Unit One. My mother and I tried everything possible to rescue her from the core, but nothing we did would work. After a month of numerous recovery attempts, we found ourselves at a dead end," Ritsuko said with a frown.

"Wait... twelve years... Unit One... are you talking about my mother?" Shinji asked Ritsuko with a surprised expression. Ritsuko nodded her head in response to the young man's question. "Does that mean... she isn't really dead? She's just... trapped in the core, like Rei?" Shinji asked Ritsuko.

"Yes, Shinji. Yui Ikari... is trapped in the core of Unit One. We did everything possible to try to extract her from the Eva, but in the end... nothing would work. Your father was driven to despair and became the cold shell of a man you've known for over a decade because of that incident," Ritsuko said solemnly. "He's only recently started to turn back into a human being, but its going to be a long time before he becomes the man he used to be," Ritsuko added.

"But don't worry, Shinji," Maya Ibuki spoke up. "Technology has improved since then, and this time I'm sure we'll succeed in retrieving Rei from the Eva," Maya continued optimistically. "Even if this attempt fails, we'll keep trying until we succeed," she added.

"So don't give up hope, Shinji. We'll get Rei out of there. Just you wait and see!" Maya beamed confidently.

 _My mother... isn't dead? But I saw her turn into a puddle of orange goo on the video monitor! Something isn't quite adding up here. There's something else about this whole trapped in the core thing that Doctor Akagi isn't telling me_ , Shinji thought to himself suspiciously.

"Okay, we're ready," Ritsuko said as she finished the final adjustments. "Ibuki! Start it up!" Ritsuko ordered. Maya nodded her head and made her way over to another console as she pressed a button to start up the modified synchronization program.

On the monitors in front of them, several graphs showed rising color bands and wavelengths as the recovery process proceeded. "Levels are rising. We're at twenty percent so far," Ritsuko said. "We're starting to make something out," she said as she saw a series of numbers appear on one screen.

"Contact?" Ritsuko asked herself. She looked at the Eva as she saw its eye begin to glow. "I think this time might be the one," she said with a smile as she looked at the monitors again and saw the graphs rising. "This might be it! We might... n-no," Ritsuko said with a frown as the numbers started to drop, and the graphs started lowering.

"No! No!" Ritsuko exclaimed in dismay as she saw the eye of Unit 00 stop glowing. "Dammit! God damn it!" Ritsuko snapped as she slammed a fist down onto the console. "You...  _bitch_ ," Ritsuko muttered as she glared at the Eva through the window.

Shinji hung his head, crestfallen as he realized that the recovery effort had failed. Misato wheeled herself over to the boy using her one good arm before placing a hand against his back. "Shinji... I'm sorry. But don't worry! Like Maya said, we can't give up just yet!" Misato said with forced enthusiasm. Shinji turned to look at her with a mournful expression on his face, and he quietly nodded his head in response.

* * *

**Inside The Core...**

Frowning at the receding prickle that had been annoying her, Rei let out a sigh as she looked around the living room of the house she was in. She had been sitting here patiently for several hours now, and there had been no sign of the Eva's operating soul yet. Finally getting up from the couch, she made her way over to the staircase that went up to the second floor, having not really explored that area yet.

Taking one step at a time, Rei went up into the dark hallway. When she reached the top, she saw four doors. Two doors were on the left and two were on the right. She went to the first one on the right and slowly opened it before stepping inside. The room was filled with an empty bed, and there were several plush cat toys sitting around, along with several drawings and... school reports hanging on the wall.

Rei walked up to one of them and looked at it intently. It was a graded math exam that had been taken by... Ritsuko Akagi. Looking over at a framed picture on a bedside table, Rei saw a framed picture of a young woman her age, with brunette hair and a mole under her left eye, along with an older woman. The date was September 17, 2027. The picture had been taken shortly after 2nd Impact.

"This is... Doctor Akagi?" Rei asked as she picked up the picture frame and looked at the younger Ritsuko, who only had a small portion of blonde dye near the top of her hair. She hadn't fully dyed her whole head just yet. A sense of unease began to creep back up Rei's spine as she began to infer just why this room would no doubt look like the bedroom of a younger Ritsuko Akagi.

Turning around, she set the picture frame back down and made her way out of the room, before she opened the first door on the left. It was a bathroom, with a toilet, a bath tub, a sink, and a few cupboards. There was nothing really of note or interest in it.

Closing the door, Rei made her way to the next door on the left and opened it, seeing an empty storage room. Closing the door, she turned around and grabbed the handle of the final door. She hesitated for a minute, feeling that sense of unease return to her before she shook her head and narrowed her eyes at the door. Opening the door, Rei stepped into the room and looked around, seeing a furnished but empty bed, along with several framed pictures on the wall, some of which were of... a younger Gendo Ikari.

"The... Commander?" Rei asked curiously as she saw another picture of him with a brunette woman who was no doubt Yui Ikari, holding a small baby in her arms. "Shinji," Rei said in realization. Looking at all of the other pictures, Rei soon noticed that despite there being several pictures of Gendo, the only pictures containing Yui Ikari were those that also had Shinji in them. There were also several pictures of Ritsuko Akagi through the years, from an infant being held in her father's arms up to a woman only a decade or so younger than she was now.

"This means the soul which resides in Unit Zero... is Akagi Senior?" Rei asked.

"That's correct," came an older sounding female voice from behind her. The sound of the woman's voice caused blurry images to start forming in Rei's mind as she slowly turned around, finally seeing the curly-haired brunette woman standing in the doorway.

Rei's eyes widened as a horrible memory started to come back to her. She could remember the smell of alcohol on the woman's breath, and the feel of her hands wrapping around her throat. She could remember the panic felt by Rei-I as she struggled to breathe while the drunk and enraged woman throttled her.

 _'A hag!? A HAG!? You little bitch, I'll show you who's an old HAG!_ ' _Naoko shouted at the blue haired girl in front her, her face twisted into a rage-filled snarl as her arms shot forward and her hands clasped around Rei's throat._

Rei stared at Naoko, who was dressed in a gray and blue blouse, before glancing around the room in search of an exit. Realizing that there wasn't one other than where Naoko was standing, Rei began to panic as she realized that she was trapped. Rei gulped in fear as Naoko took a step forward towards her.

_Rei's eyes widened in shock and fear as she felt the older woman begin applying pressure around her throat. She soon found breathing to be difficult, and her eyes started bugging out in fear. Rei let go of the teddy bear she had been holding and brought both of her tiny arms up to try clawing at Naoko's arms. Naoko simply kept glaring at Rei in a deranged fashion as she started to throttle her. With a gasp and what little air she had left, Rei tried to cry for help, until her world went black, and she felt her neck snap._

With a startled gasp, Rei stepped back from the woman as the complete memory of that horrible event finally returned to her. Naoko, for her part, simply looked at Rei with mild curiosity. "S-Stay back!" Rei cried out in fear, holding her hands up defensively.

"Do you always enter other people's homes in the nude?" Naoko asked her with a raised eyebrow. Rei simply stepped back until she was against the wall, and she started sliding down, hyperventilating and crying. "Rei?" Naoko asked with concern as she heard the terrified sobs of the young woman in front of her.

"Stay away from me! D-Don't come near me!" Rei screamed in fright as Naoko took several steps forward. "G-Get away! I-I know what you did to Rei One! Please, don't come closer!" Rei begged as tears streamed down her face. Her eyes were wide with fright as the memory of Rei-I's violent death ran on a loop through her mind.

As Naoko raised an eyebrow, she stepped closer. "One? But your soul is the same as before," Naoko stated, perplexed. "Are you... a clone? Aside from being older, you don't look any different," she said as she knelt down to inspect Rei.

Breathing quickly, Rei's eyes darted from Naoko to the doorway. In a split second, Rei had darted from her spot against the wall, only to feel her right arm get grabbed. "N-No! NOOO! Let me go! Let me go!" Rei screamed in fear as she tried to pull away from Naoko's grip.

"Just calm down, Rei," Naoko said as she stood up and pulled the crying girl into her arms.

Rei struggled violently to escape Naoko's embrace, and Naoko only held on tighter. "No! I don't want to die again! I don't wanna die! Let me go, please!" Rei screamed as she struggled with all her might.

"Rei... I'm not going to kill you," Naoko said softly, her voice fill with regret over her past actions. "I... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Rei," Naoko said as small tears started to stream down her face as well.

Simply continued struggling, reaching out with her other arm to grab at anything she could reach. "Nng! N-No! Let me go! Let me go!" Rei cried as she kept squirming in Naoko's grip.

"Rei... I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry, I..." Naoko trailed off before turning Rei around and embracing her in a proper hug. "I'm so sorry for what I did. I wish I could take it back," Naoko apologized with genuine sorrow and remorse.

Rei continued to struggle, and Naoko held her tightly, bringing and arm up behind her to gently cup the back of her head. Rei's eyes widened in fear and her struggles increased. "No! No!" Rei cried out as she violently tried to break free from the older woman's grip. "I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!" Rei cried repeatedly as she kept trying to escape.

Eventually, she stopped using words and simply bawled her eyes out in fear as she kept expecting Naoko to try to kill her, just as she had killed the first Rei. Naoko simply held the girl tightly against her clothed chest as she waited for her struggling to cease. Eventually, girl was able to wear herself out, and she started panting in exhaustion.

"Are you done?" Naoko quietly asked the terrified girl in her arms. Rei simply trembled in response as small whimpers escaped her lips. "Rei... I'm not going to hurt you. Not again," Naoko said reassuringly. "I'm sorry. I know those are only words, but I do mean them," Naoko said softly to the trembling girl in her arms.

Slowly, she began to rock herself and Rei from side to side, to help calm her down. Rei's whimpering slowly, very slowly, began to decrease. "I'm not gonna hurt you, Rei. I'm not gonna hurt you," Naoko whispered repeatedly to the girl.

" _ **I should hope not!**_ " Naoko's eyes shot open and she looked around the room, before seeing a glow coming from the ceiling. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight of a second Rei, one with glowing white hair and crimson red eyes, as well as what looked like folded up orange wings on her back.

"What the? Wh-Who are you?" Naoko asked the second Rei curiously. The 2nd Rei looked at her with a smirk as she sat herself down on Naoko's bed. Second Rei tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, before a mischievous expression took over her face.

" _ **It isn't obvious, Lilin? My own creations don't recognize their own Eternal Mother? How very disappointing**_ ," the angelic being bemoaned.

Naoko's eyes widened with a gasp, and Rei slowly lifted her head up to look at the newcomer. "Y-You're...  _Lilith_ ," Naoko said in astonishment. Lilith smiled and nodded her head in affirmation.

" _ **Congratulations, Naoko! I knew you were smart**_ ," Lilith teased. " _ **But you, Rei! I expect you to know who I am since I'm a part of you!**_ " Lilith teased again.

"W-What?" Rei asked in confusion. "A...Are you the part... that I felt when Ramiel appeared? When I had to save Shinji from crashing into the base?" Rei asked her, remembering that burst of ancient power she had felt when she had begun manipulating Unit 00's A.T. Field to slow down Unit 01 and the platform it was on.

" _ **Correct! Although, technically, I'm simply staying with you until I can return to my original body**_ ," Lilith said. Rei and Naoko both looked at her curiously, prompting Lilith to sigh in annoyance at them. " _ **Since it is clear that neither of you fully comprehend the true extent of what is going on, however, perhaps some introductions are required**_ ," Lilith postulated. " _ **Ahem. I am the soul of Lilith, the Eternal Mother of life on Earth. You, my children, are my progeny, my creations... my, uh, children**_ ," Lilith said with slight awkwardness.

"You already said that," Naoko pointed out.

" _ **Shut up**_ ," Lilith retorted with an annoyed expression.

Naoko simply rolled her eyes at Lilith in response. "Wait a minute... how did you get... were you hiding inside Rei this whole time?" Naoko asked her. Lilith smirked before nodding her head in confirmation. "Both of them, or just this one?" Naoko asked her.

"Wait, what do you mean both?" Rei asked Naoko in confusion. "A-Akagi, the first Rei was a normal human girl. It is not possible for Lilith's soul to have been inside her body," Rei said.

"Rei... what are you talking about? If you can remember what I did to the first Rei, then surely you must remember the fact that the original Rei was  _also_  a clone of Lilith," Naoko said, puzzled by Rei's statement. Lilith simply shook her head at Rei and Naoko.

Rei's eyes widened in shock. "N-No. No, the Commander and Doctor Akagi both told me that Rei One was a normal human girl! Th-They wouldn't lie to me! They wouldn't! They...th-they... they... n-no! No!" Rei cried out as the truth sank in. All her life... she had been lied to by the people she trusted the most, and it  _hurt_.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 High School, Tuesday, January 26, 2044**

Sitting in the classroom, Kensuke Aida looked around at the number of people who were sitting down in their seats. The bell had just rung, and Hikari was using a sheet with names to find out who was in class. As the other students responded to their names being called, Kensuke noticed with some comfort that most of the pilots were actually attending class with him.

Asuka was sitting in her seat with a melancholy expression on her face. She was no doubt still recovering from Toji's death, and Kensuke didn't blame her. He was still having trouble accepting the fact that Toji was gone, and it hurt to think about it.

Looking over at the back of the room, Kensuke saw Mana sitting in her seat with a somber expression on her face as she rested her head on her desk. She had a distant look on her face, as though she were deep in thought. She seemed tired as well.

Over near Mana, Mari had an expression of boredom on her face. She seemed to be the only person in the whole city who wasn't somber or melancholy. In a way, it kind of creeped Kensuke out a bit. Mari had always seemed to be the most upbeat of the pilots, but given the most recent series of events in the past  _week_ , she seemed far too cheery.  _Maybe she's just putting on a facade_ , Kensuke thought to himself.

And lastly, Kensuke saw Shinji sitting in his seat with a dour expression on his face. The boy was slouching in his chair with a vacant expression on his face, as though he was only in the classroom in body, but not in mind. He was probably still recovering the Toji's death as well.

And finally, Kensuke noticed the lack of Rei Ayanami. Granted, nearly a year ago, this was practically normal, but over the past year and a half, Rei had been absent less and less to the point that she was actually in school every day of the week for several months in a row. Where her absence used to be considered normal, it was now distracting.

Rei hadn't been mentioned as being dead by the other pilots, and Mari had told him that she was still at NERV HQ, although she wouldn't elaborate any further than that when he pressed her for answers. Even his own father had been tight-lipped regarding the Evas when asked at home. "Rise. Bow. Sit," Hikari said to the class, who all did just that.

Looking around, Kensuke noticed that the class was missing at least five other students. Sitting in front of him, Tatsuya Goto had a cast on his arm, as the boy had been in one of the damaged shelters during the Angel attack, along with fellow students Satsuki Minazawa and Yuna Gondo. Yuna Gondo had a cast on her leg and a pair of crutches next to her desk, while Satsuki Minazawa had her right arm in a cast and several healing bruises on her left leg.

**Later, During Lunch...**

Sitting on the roof top, Kensuke looked at the pilots as they sat together in relative silence while eating. Only Mari seemed to be enthusiastic about her food, while the others appeared to be eating on autopilot, save Asuka. Asuka had packed a slightly bigger than normal lunch for herself, although given that she was pregnant, this was to be expected.

After finishing his store-bought bento, Kensuke cleared his throat. "So... um, how are you guys hanging in there?" Kensuke asked awkwardly. He desperately wanted to talk to his friends and find some way of cheering them up, but the melancholy atmosphere surrounding everyone in the city was making this goal very difficult to accomplish.

Mari perked her head up to look at him while chewing her food, but it was Mana who broke the silence. "We're alive, so there's that," Mana said with a sigh and a frown. She then looked Kensuke in the eyes. "You wanna know about Ayanami-san, don't you?" she asked him.

"Uh... Mari already told me that she's still in NERV HQ recovering from the battle," Kensuke said, causing Shinji to flinch outwardly at hearing the lie that Mari and the other pilots had been instructed to rehearse. "But... how badly was she injured?" Kensuke asked Mana.

Before Mana could speak, Shinji scoffed outwardly. "Kensuke... Rei is still inside her Eva," Shinji said with a scowl.

" _Ikari-kun_ ," Mana warned with narrowed eyes.

"No! I'm not gonna lie to myself and anyone else! I'm sick of this! I'm sick of being lied to and then being told to lie!" Shinji snapped at Mana, who stared at Shinji with wide eyes at his outburst. "Kensuke, Rei is trapped inside Unit Zero, and we can't get her out," Shinji said.

"Oh, is the entry plug stuck or something?" Kensuke asked him.

"No... she's  _inside_  the Eva itself," Shinji said. "She was  _absorbed_  into it... or that's what Doctor Akagi says happened. Rei was able to achieve a synchronization level of over four hundred, and when that happened, she... she... she was absorbed into it, or merged with it, I don't know. Doctor Akagi says she can get her out, but... she hasn't had much luck so far," Shinji said.

Kensuke's jaw lowered slightly as he took in everything that Shinji was saying. "Sh-Shinji... I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry, man," Kensuke said apologetically. "Shinji, do you remember when you told me how much it sucks to be an Eva pilot?" Kensuke asked his friend. Shinji nodded his head in response.

"I get it now. Ever since Toji died, it's started dawning on me how the shit you guys go through isn't like the stuff I see on TV or in movies. I always thought you guys were invincible, and... it took Toji's death to show me that for all of the technical knowledge I possess, I really don't know anything about what you guys are actually going through," Kensuke admitted shamefully.

"I'm sorry... for being a terrible friend," Kensuke said with a downcast expression on his face.

"Kensuke, you're... you're not a bad friend," Shinji said. Kensuke looked at Shinji with a curious expression on his face. "You just have some very messed up priorities compared to everyone else," Shinji added. "At least you're still there for us when we need you," he added, before he fell back into silence as he thought about Rei.

* * *

**NERV HQ, Later That Evening...**

Half-sitting and half-laying across a desk littered with papers and a few data pads, Ritsuko Akagi slept quietly while the door to her lab slid open. Carefully wheeling herself into the room with her one good arm, Misato made sure to close the door behind her, not noticing the sleeping form of Maya Ibuki curled up on a small chair in the other corner of the room behind her. She then looked at Ritsuko with a sympathetic expression. The woman had worn herself out trying to come up with new solutions to retrieving Rei from the Eva's core.

"Hey, Rits? Are you awake?" Misato asked her softly. Ritsuko simply drooled on her desk as she continued sleeping. Misato then raised a hand and slowly poked her friend in the face.

Glancing down at the papers on the table, Misato saw dozens of equations and number sheets that went over her head. She didn't understand any of the formulas Ritsuko had written down, nor did she think she'd ever have the capacity to understand them. It was practically akin to reading a foreign language without any translation assistance for the first time.

Soon, however, Misato's prodding achieved a result and Ritsuko started to stir. "W-What? M-Misato?" Ritsuko asked groggily as she slowly pushed herself up from the table. "What're you doin' here?" Ritsuko asked her raven-haired friend.

"I came to check on you. You haven't left the lab in over a day, Rits. I was getting kind of worried," Misato said with a soft but concerned expression on her face.

"I can't leave yet," Ritsuko said as she stretched out her limbs. "I have to get Rei out of Unit Zero," she added. "I-I have to," she said.

"You need some proper rest first. And by that I mean sleeping in a  _real bed_. You also need to eat something," Misato said. "Come on, let's get you something to eat and then you can come back here and try again later. Just clear your head to make things easier on yourself," Misato said.

"No! I can't allow myself to leave until I've gotten her out of there! She's too important to me!" Ritsuko snapped.

"Pfft!" Misato replied in disbelief. "As long as I've been here, I've never seen you show any real concern for Rei. Why the change of heart?" Misato asked Ritsuko skeptically.

"Because I  _do_  care for her!" Ritsuko snapped at Misato angrily. "I may not be good at showing it, but I do care for her! I've known her longer than you have!" Ritsuko continued.

"I was there when she first opened her eyes! I was there the first time she spoke! I've always been there at every stage of her development! And then you come along and sweep her away and I only get to see pictures of her as she matures!" Ritsuko snarled. "I've been there since day one! I created her!" Ritsuko shouted.

Misato's eyes widened. "Oh my god... Rits. You mean... Rei is..." Ritsuko huffed and took deep breaths to calm herself as Misato slowly spoke. Ritsuko then nodded her head as she prepared to hear Misato put the puzzle pieces together out loud.

"She's your  _daughter!_ " Misato gasped. "That's why you cashed in your credits early and left college to work here!" Misato continued, causing Ritsuko to raise an eyebrow. "You graduated early because you were  _pregnant!_ " Misato rambled.

"Huh?" Ritsuko asked her friend, blinking in confusion.

"It all makes sense now. The mole under her eye was a dead give away this whole time!" Misato exclaimed. A look of disbelief swept over Ritsuko's face. "And... Kaji's the father, isn't he? You left college only a short time after that three-week romp you had with him, and then nine months later you gave birth to Rei!" Misato exclaimed.

Ritsuko stared at Misato with a dropped jaw, dumbfounded by her friend's completely incorrect, yet still plausible, assessment.

"N-No. That... no, Misato. I mean, yes, she's sort of my daughter, but not in the way that you're thinking," Ritsuko said, causing Misato to look at her strangely.

"What do you mean? The whole backstory about Rei being an orphan was just to cover up the fact that she's your daughter, right?" Misato asked her. Ritsuko's left eye began to twitch.

"No, the orphan story was made to cover up the fact that she's a  _clone!_ " Ritsuko snapped.

"Rei is... a clone? But cloning people is illegal, Rits!" Misato exclaimed, ignoring the fact that the Evas themselves were clones of ADAM and Lilith, which made the Evas, essentially, giant people in the broadest sense of the term.

"I  _know_ , but she isn't a perfect clone of me," Ritsuko replied. "Listen, Misato... I think it's time I came clean here," Ritsuko said with a sigh. "Rei Ayanami's real name... is Rei Akagi. Ayanami was a placeholder name I made up for her when Gendo and Fuyutsuki needed me to forge documents for her. But even those two didn't know that she came from me until recently," Ritsuko said.

"And... after Rei One died, I couldn't tell anyone the truth," Ritsuko said.

"Wait, hold on... what do you mean she died?" Misato asked her.

"The Rei that's been living with you and Shinji is Rei Two, Misato. Rei One... was murdered in a drunken rage by my mother, Naoko Akagi, just hours after the completion of the MAGI system. Gendo and I were making some nasty jokes about my mother behind her back, and Rei must've overheard us. When we noticed she was missing, we made our way to the bridge to ask my mother to help us search for her, but when we got there, Rei was dead on the floor, her neck having been snapped by my mother... who had thrown herself over the safety rails and down several floors below in what I can only assume was guilt-induced suicide," Ritsuko explained somberly.

"Rei must've... she must've told my mother what we had said, and due to the empty bottle of beer on the floor nearby, my mother had been drunk when she told her. She must have snapped," Ritsuko said, tears starting to form as she continued. "I remember... Rei's teddy bear was on the floor with her. I... I had bought that teddy bear for her as a gift," she added, choking up as she remembered finding Rei-I's dead body on the floor, her eyes wide with fright and glazed over.

Misato's jaw had dropped in shock as she listened to Ritsuko's story. "Did... does Rei know that she's a clone?" Misato asked her friend. Ritsuko nodded her head.

"Sort of. She believes that she's a clone of the original Rei. The three of us, Gendo, Fuyutsuki, and myself; we all told Rei that the original Rei was a human girl who died in an accident. When we transferred her soul into the next body, we couldn't fully erase those memories, so made sure to bury them as deep as we could," Ritsuko explained.

Misato began to feel queasy listening to Ritsuko speak.

"But... I'm sure you must have noticed by now that Rei isn't... fully human either," Ritsuko said, looking Misato in the eyes.

"What do you mean? Are you talking about her hair and eyes? Because from what you've just said, it sounds like that's a result of the cloning process," Misato replied.

"No. Misato... Rei has those eye and hair colors... because she's partially cloned from  _Lilith_ ," Ritsuko said.

Misato's eyes widened in shock. "L-Lilith? You mean Terminal Dogma Lilith?" Misato asked her, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Yes. The very same," Ritsuko replied softly. "Haven't you ever wondered what the medication I give her is for? The Nephilum pills? They're to control her S-Two organ," Ritsuko explained.

"She's part Angel, Misato. And she's my daughter... and I've never once told her that I loved her," Ritsuko said, the tears now streaming down her face. A bewildered expression crossed Misato's face as she took in Ritsuko's words. "I... I've never told her that I loved her, and now I may never have another chance," Ritsuko continued.

Misato gulped before scowling at Ritsuko. "Well, that's on  _you_ , Rits. You've had over twelve years to tell her the truth, to tell her that you care about her at all, and you never once took the initiative. Not once," Misato spat.

"I wasn't allowed to at first! You wouldn't understand! Do you know how it feels to see your daughter everyday and not be able to tell her the truth!?" Ritsuko screamed.

"She isn't your daughter anymore, Rits. She's  _mine_ ," Misato barked. "I'm the one who's been raising her! I'm the one who's helped bring her out of that shell she used to hide in! I'm the one she went to for advice when she started having sex with Shinji!" Misato continued.

Ritsuko blinked at Misato in surprise. Rei had only gone to  _her_  when she was hoping to begin  _dating_  Shinji. "Yeah, that's right! I told her everything, too! I told her the best positions and even how to initiate foreplay," Misato smirked.

"Oh yeah? Well, I was the one who gave her The Talk," Ritsuko tried to counter. Misato simply rolled her eyes in response. "And so what if she went to you for advice on sex!? I'm still her real mother!" Ritsuko shouted.

"Uh-huh. Well, Rits, considering what you've told me, I've been more of a mother to Rei in the past  _year and a half_  than you have for  _over twelve years!_  You could have told her the truth at any time, rules and regulations be  _damned!_  But you  _didn't!_  And that's on  _you!_ " Misato spat.

"Maybe, after you get her out of there, you can try to make up for lost time, but until then? Don't you dare whine to me about how she's your daughter when you've never once shown her any affection!" Misato shouted as she turned herself around and began wheeling herself over to the door. "I don't even know why I came in here anymore," she grumbled.

"Misato, wait!" Ritsuko called out, causing Misato to pause for a moment at the door.

"What?" Misato asked her darkly.

"Will you... are you going to tell Rei the truth when we get her out of Unit Zero?" Ritsuko asked her.

"Not if you do it first. I'll give you one day after she's back, and if you haven't talked to her by then... I'll do it for you," Misato said. "As the better mother, the least I can do is be honest with her," Misato said with a frown before exiting the room. She was grateful that she had told Makoto to stay behind and help out with repairs on the command center, as being alone during her journey through the base gave her some time to think.

Meanwhile, in the lab, Ritsuko sat down at her desk and began to sob, not even noticing the silent and wide-eyed Maya Ibuki who had been curled up on a chair in the corner of the room the entire time.

* * *

**Eva Holding Cage Observation Room, NERV HQ, Wednesday, January 27, 2044**

Staring at the monitors in front of her, Ritsuko grimaced. "Try number fifteen. Here it goes," she with a determined look on her face. "Maya! Are the primers set to boost the wave levels at the ten second mark!?" Ritsuko asked the mousy lab tech.

"Yes, Sempai!" Maya replied with equal determination as she looked over the console.

"Good! Start the recovery attempt!" Ritsuko ordered. Maya nodded her head and pressed a button to start the sequence. As before, Unit 00's eye began to glow as the recovery process began.

"Maya, how are we doing?" Ritsuko asked as she checked a monitor to view the graphs shooting upwards. The recovery process was moving along as expected, with no hiccups so far. "Come on, work for me," Ritsuko said under her breath as she saw the numbers on the screen next to the first monitor.

"We're good so far. Wavelength levels are rising, and primers have boosted energy input for them at the ten second mark!" Maya exclaimed with a smirk. "This time it might work," she said, just before the readings began to fall.

"Not again!" Ritsuko cried out as Unit 00's eye stopped glowing. Soon, the readings returned to zero, and the machines were silent. "We didn't even make it past two minutes this time!" Ritsuko sobbed.

"Dammit, give her back already! I want my Rei back!" Ritsuko sobbed, prompting Maya to walk over and place a hand on her shoulder. "I just want to see her again, and finally be her mother," Ritsuko sobbed.

"Sempai... we'll get her out of there. I promise," Maya said softly. "When she's out of there, you can finally tell her the truth," Maya said.

Ritsuko looked at her in surprise. "Wait a minute! How do you know about that!?" Ritsuko asked her in shock.

"I was in the lab yesterday when you and Major Katsuragi had your argument. I was sleeping in the back corner of the room until Major Katsuragi's shouting woke me up," Maya explained somewhat timidly. Ritsuko groaned in response.

"So, you know what she is then?" Ritsuko asked her. Maya nodded her head in response.

"I do, but that doesn't matter to me. Part Angel or not, she's still Rei, and we're still going to rescue her from the Eva's core," Maya said with determination in her voice.

* * *

**The Core Of Unit 00, Thursday, January 28, 2044**

Rei looked around at the ocean beyond the beach. A cool breeze swept through her hair, tousling it. It felt nice. She was still naked, seeing no need for clothing when she, Naoko, and Lilith were the only ones around. The ocean smelled of LCL, despite how much Naoko had tried to change its appearance for her own liking in this fabricated world of hers.

Soon, Rei heard footsteps approaching her from behind. Turning her head, she saw her glowing white twin, Lilith. Acknowledging the Angel with a nod of her head, Rei reached over and patted the ground as a gesture for her to sit next to her. Shinji had taught her how to do this months ago.

Lilith nodded her head in appreciation and sat down cross-legged style. "So... you have always been inside of me?" Rei finally asked. Lilith nodded her head in confirmation.

"Yep. From day one," Lilith replied, having picked up various human terminology during her time inside Rei. Lilith looked out at the ocean around them before grabbing a handful of grass and lifting it up to her face to smell. "I've never been able to do this before now," Lilith said before she dropped the grass onto the ground.

"Even if it's all fabricated... it's nice having the ability to do this for now," Lilith added. She then turned to look at Rei with a curious expression on her face. "Rei... something is bothering you," Lilith stated.

"Yes," Rei replied, nodding her head. "But... I do not know what it is," she added. "I feel at peace in here, yet there is something that does not feel right to me. It is not the fact that this world is a fabrication. It is something else, but I do not know what it is," Rei explained as best she could.

Lilith silently nodded her head in understanding. She then put a hand on Rei's shoulder, prompting the blue-haired girl to look at her curiosity. "Well, I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually," Lilith said with a comforting smile. Rei smiled back and nodded her head in response.

* * *

**The Eva Holding Cages, NERV HQ, Later That Evening...**

Sitting outside on the walkway around Unit 00, Shinji let out a defeated sigh. Ritsuko had just run another recovery attempt, and that too had ended in failure. "Rei... I don't know if you can hear me in there, but... I miss you. I... I miss you, Rei. I... I love you," Shinji said.

"I... you know, I honestly never thought I'd feel love again after my mother died and my father abandoned me, even when I spent years with my uncle's family, but... then I met you," Shinji rambled as he looked up at the cyclops. "I, uh, I guess I fell in love with you after a while. I'm not sure just when it happened, but you make me complete, Rei," Shinji continued, not noticing the soft measured footsteps behind him.

Memories of the times he and Rei spent together began flooding his mind. The first time he had ever seen her. The first time he had spoken to her at lunch. The first night she had lived with him and Misato. He remembered the following day when Rei had tried Ritsuko's fire hazard cereal. He remembered all of the times they spent together during summer break as he had practiced his cello and she had listened, as though he had been playing solely for her.

 _When she gets out... i'm gonna play a cello suite for her. Just for her_ , Shinji thought to himself.  _I'll write my own piece and play it for her_.

He then remembered the time Rei had openly defied his father's orders in order to help him. Their first kiss. Their first time in bed together. All of these memories were beautiful to Shinji, and they were also now very painful.

"I love you, Rei. So, please come back," Shinji pleaded softly, albeit still loud enough for the person standing behind him to hear. "It hurts, Rei. It hurts not being able to see you, or hold you, or talk to you. Please, just come back!" Shinji pleaded.

The giant cyborg in front of him made no sound. It made no movement. It did nothing in response to his pleas. It simply stared off into space with its one giant eye, silent and unmoving.

"Please, because... I need you. I love you and I need you," Shinji pleaded as tears began to fall. "I love you, Rei Ayanami. And I... I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so please come back!" Shinji pleaded, before hanging his head in sorrow.

Standing behind the weeping young man, Gendo Ikari looked up at the monolithic form of Unit 00. He then stepped over to Shinji and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Not now, Misato," Shinji said.

Gendo raised an eyebrow at Shinji. "Son, I am  _not_  Major Katsuragi," Gendo said, causing Shinji to stiffen. Shinji slowly looked up at his father. "Do you understand how it feels now, Son? To lose the one you love without any hope of seeing her again?" Gendo asked him.

Shinji slowly stood up and brushed his father's hand off of his shoulder. "Y-Yeah. I know how it feels. But... if I had a kid, I know I wouldn't abandon them either," Shinji spat darkly before walking away from his father. Gendo looked at his son as he walked away and disappeared into a doorway near a catwalk.

"Hm. Touche, son," Gendo said quietly. "I suppose I have certainly earned that scorn," Gendo said before he started walking over to Unit 01 on the walkway. As he made his way to a spot on the walkway that was directly in front of the Eva, Gendo took a deep breath.

"Yui... I'm not entirely sure if you can hear me in there, but... I have something I need to tell you," Gendo said softly.

* * *

**The Core of Unit 00, Saturday, January 30, 2044**

Looking out over the ocean again, Rei sighed and shook her head in dismay as she watched the sun begin to set. "This is... beautiful," she said to herself. Sitting next to her, Naoko and Lilith both nodded their heads in agreement. "But... something is wrong," Rei added with a frown.

"Well, I can only make things so accurate, Honey," Naoko said, rolling her eyes.

"That is not what I mean," Rei retorted. "I mean... I feel as though I am missing something important. I wish Shinji were here to see... Shinji," Rei said. "That's what's missing."

Naoko and Lilith both looked at Rei curiously. "I don't think I can bring Shinji in here unless he gets into the entry plug," Naoko said. "And even then, I can't do that unless he reaches a high enough sync ratio," she added.

"No, you don't get it!" Rei snapped. "I know what's missing now!" she added as she stood up and looked down at Lilith and Naoko. "It's the people I care about! Who care about me! This... this is all beautiful. It's a paradise, but... it's meaningless to me if I can't be in paradise with the ones I love," Rei said solemnly.

"What is the point of watching the sun set if I can't watch it with Shinji? Or Misato? Or Pen-Pen? What meaning will it have for me if I can't share it with the people I care about? With the people I... love?" Rei asked with a frown.

"The world can be a cold place sometimes, but the people you meet along the way can make it warmer," Naoko said. "They're what make everything worth it," she added. "Are you ready to leave then?" she asked Rei. Rei nodded her head in affirmation. "Soon. I just... I just don't know how to do so," Rei said.

"I know how. I can teach you," Naoko said. "With Lilith's help... it should be easy for you escape. Of course, I have to stay in here," Naoko said with a frown. "If I leave, then Unit Zero won't work for you. Oh, Rei? When you see Gendo... tell him I'm sorry," Naoko said. "Tell him I'm sorry... for everything," she added.

Rei nodded her head. "I will. And... do you want me to say anything to Doctor Akagi?" Rei asked Naoko. A contemplative look overcame Naoko's face as she thought about Rei's question.

"As a matter of fact... I do," Naoko said as she looked at the mole under Rei's left eye.

* * *

**The Eva Holding Cages, NERV HQ, Later That Evening...**

"Okay, we're all set!" Maya called out from her station. Ritsuko nodded her head in response as she eyed the controls in front of her. Down on the catwalk below, Shinji, Misato, and Makoto all waited for the recovery experiment to begin. Ritsuko reached forward and pressed a button on the console.

"Initiate startup sequence now!" Ritsuko barked.

Maya nodded her head in compliance and pressed several buttons on her station before turning three nobs. "Startup initiated. Energy boosts are set to begin in T-Minus two minutes!" Maya announced.

"Good," Ritsuko said in response. She watched as the numbers and lines on the monitors began to rise. It was a slow rise, but slow and steady wins the race.

Two minutes passed as the numbers on the screen continued to rise. "We're doing good. Wavelengths are rising. Energy boost initiated! Wavelength increasing in response!" Ritsuko called out.

"Energy levels are rising steadily!" Maya called out. "Wave patterns remain consistent! readings are good. We're approaching the key mark," Maya announced. Outside the observation room, Unit 00's eye began to glow again.

Pride and anticipation began to swell up inside Ritsuko as she saw the glowing eye. "Yes! YES!" she cried out as she saw the numbers rising on the screen in front of her. "Maya, prepare for the second phase!" Ritsuko called out.

Maya nodded her head and prepared to press a button that would activate a series of electronic pulses to electrolyze the LCL filling the entry plug. "Preparing to electrolyze LCL!" Maya called out.

"Wait for it!" Ritsuko warned as she watched the numbers on the screen continue rising, and rising, and rising... until they stopped. "Now!" Ritsuko barked. Maya nodded her head and pressed the button to initiate the electrolyzation of the LCL. Unit 00's eye continued to glow, before it started pulsing, and then it began to fade.

"No! Readings are fading!" Ritsuko cried out, before the numbers on the screen dropped. "No! NO!" Ritsuko cried out, pounding a fist against the console. They had failed again.  _She_  had failed again.

Hearing Ritsuko's cries of dismay from the speakers, Shinji frowned. "Dammit! Give her back already!" he shouted at the yellow cyborg in front of him. "Please! Just give her back!"

Meanwhile, back in the observation room, Maya's eyes widened as she saw something on her screen. "Sempai! Look at these readings! The numbers are rising again! Something's happening inside Unit Zero!" Maya called out.

Ritsuko lifted her head and looked at the screen next to her, before hearing a loud groan. She look through the safety glass to see Unit 00's eye glowing again, blinking rapidly as it started to spasm. "Oh no! Unit Zero is acting up again!" Ritsuko yelled.  _Constantly running the recovery process through it must have woken it up_ , she rationalized.

"Sempai!" Maya called out as Unit 00 broke its arms free of its restraints. On the walkway below, Shinji and Makoto ran for cover, with Makoto pushing Misato's wheelchair, as the mighty cyclops gabbed its front armor plating and began to tear it away, breaking the material to expose its bright shining core to the world. Shinji stopped running and stared at the core as it pulsed bright red.

He thought, for a moment, that he heard a voice calling out to him. Raising an eyebrow, Shinji slowly stepped forward toward the core as it continued to emit a pulsating glow, shining brightly like a star. He saw some kind of golden dust swirling in the air around the core as it continued to pulsate and glow.

"Shinji! Let's move!" Misato cried at the young man. "We can't stay here! It's too dangerous!" Misato called out to him worriedly.

Shinji shook his head as he watched the core glow brightly. A blinding light soon expanded from the red sphere as it began to bubble, before a torrent of LCL shot forward onto the walkway, splashing all over the place. Shinji stepped back, raising an arm to shield his eyes from the light, and watched as a strange glowing shape emerged from the core.

The glow began to dissipate from the shape, revealing a figure with blue hair, causing Shinji's eyes to widen. "Rei!" he shouted as he sprinted over to the naked glowing girl. He reached forward to grab her, only to hiss and pull his hands back from an intense searing heat. Grunting in pain, he ignored the heat and reached for her again, wincing as his hands burned for a brief moment as the blue-haired young woman collapsed into his arms.

The glow from Unit 00's core began to fade as it completed its task, while the Eva's arms soon returned to the beast's sides, leaving the core exposed to the world. Unit 00's eye also stopped glowing as well, and the beast resumed its original posture. Only for a few seconds did the eye stay fixed on the group of people below it, before returning its gaze to the observation room window.

Up in the observation room, Ritsuko stared at the scene below in astonishment. With a gasp of astonishment, Ritsuko darted away from the console, rushing out of the room and over to an exit so that she could get to the walkway. "Sempai?" Maya asked as her mentor sped out of the room. She then returned her attention to the walkway below.

"Rei! Rei!" Shinji cried as he held the naked girl in his arms. "Come on, speak to me!" he pleaded as he reached a hand up to cup her face. He kneeled down on the walkway and held Rei in his arms, with her neck and head resting in the crook of his left elbow. Her eyes were closed, but he could feel a pulse from her.

Slowly, Misato and Makoto both made their way over to Shinji's side as he brushed away strands of LCL-covered hair from Rei's eyes. Soon, Rei had a coughing fit as she started to wake up, expelling LCL from her mouth and over to the walkway as Shinji shifted her in his arms to help her with the endeavor.

"Careful with her neck," Makoto said as he kept a firm grip on the handles of Misato's wheelchair.

"I think he's got her," Misato said to Makoto as she watched the scene play out, just as Ritsuko burst through a doorway and made her way over. Misato turned to look at Ritsuko and used her good arm to motion for the woman to stop. Ritsuko halted and nodded her head in understanding.

"This is their moment," Misato said quietly to her friend. "Don't ruin it," she added. Ritsuko let out a sigh as she reluctantly nodded her head in agreement.

Meanwhile, in Shinji's arms, Rei's red eyes slowly fluttered open and she looked up at the young man, smiling. " _Shinji_ ," she said softly with a smile. She then closed her eyes and snuggled into Shinji's shirt, slowly raising her left arm to clutch at the fabric. Shinji pulled Rei closer against him and hugged her tightly, gently rocking her back and forth.

"Rei," Shinji said happily as he cradled her in his arms. He quietly wept tears of joy as he held his love safely against him. In turn, Rei peacefully allowed herself to rest against Shinji's body, enjoying the warmth of another once more.

 _I'm home_ , Rei thought to herself as Shinji held her.  _This is my paradise. This is my home, here with the people I love. And I never wish to leave it again_.

* * *

**ENDING THEME:** _**If We Hold On Together** _ **, by Diana Ross.**

* * *

**PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE**

On the next episode of EVANGELION: REWIRED, a new pilot for Unit 02 is transferred from Germany to Japan as Asuka's pregnancy makes her unfit to pilot anymore. Meanwhile, as Rei recovers from her time inside Unit 00, Mana begins to suffer a mental breakdown after she discovers a horrifying secret while spying on a meeting between Gendo and SEELE.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that was episode 20! Whew! Now, as you all may have noticed, this episode contained some humor in it. Following the deathly serious three episodes that preceded it, I felt that it was appropriate to inject a little bit of humor into proceedings for this episode. Granted, this are still dark and gloomy, but that doesn't mean I can't write a joke or two in a couple of spots. And no, this is not the end of the story's dark section. We still haven't reached episodes 23 and 24 yet, and those are going to be fucking dark, like Episode 18 dark.

I would also like to note that this episode probably has the largest number of cut or unused sequences in it of any episode. I had at least two sections where Mana told Shinji the truth about how the Evas operate, and one of them ended with Shinji entering Unit 01 and communicating with the soul of his mother. I cut that because this episode is supposed to focus on Rei in the core of Unit 00, and I felt that Shinji communicating with Yui would just seem out of place. Also, I'm not quite ready to have Shinji discover the truth behind his mom's "death" just yet. I've decided to save that for a future episode, so that it feels more dramatic when it happens.

Another major sequence I altered was Misato's confrontation with Ritsuko. Originally, I was going to have Misato enter Ritsuko's lab and close the door because she wanted to pry Ritsuko's secrets out of her, but I decided to change that since I hadn't set Misato up as being too eager to discover those secrets in past episodes. She was aware that Ritsuko was hiding things from her, but not to the point that she would deliberately interfere with a very sensitive operation to retrieve a pilot from the core of an Eva, so I changed the section to Misato wanting Ritsuko to actually go home and rest while also asking her about her progress on freeing Rei. It felt more in character for Misato that way.

I also featured very little of Asuka in this episode because she was primary focus of the previous four episodes, and this episode is supposed to focus on Shinji, Rei, and Ritsuko.

Also, yes, Naoko Akagi is the soul residing in Unit 00's core. While the soul in NGE is implied to be the soul of Rei-I, I decided to make it Naoko in this version, as it also ties in with Rei being Ritsuko's clone. I was going to write a sequence where Naoko realizes that Rei is Ritsuko's clone and then break down over the realization that she had murdered a clone of her own daughter, but I decided to make it ambiguous as to whether or not Naoko was aware of Rei's true origins.

Now, when Naoko is talking to Rei for the last time, she  _is_  aware of Rei's connection to Ritsuko by that point; that's why I detailed Naoko focusing on Rei's mole.

One more thing I'd like to point out is that Rei's initial confrontation with Naoko is inspired by Ripley's first meeting with Newt in  _ALIENS_  (1986), specifically when Ripley has chased newt into the vents and has cornered the girl before grabbing her and holding onto her to get her to calm down.

As for Lilith... yeah, I've decided not to go down the route that others have gone. Basically, Lilith has been awake ever since Rei was forced to manipulate Unit 00's A.T. Field back in episode 05. Unlike some stories where Lilith speaks to Rei as a mysterious voice, I've just had Lilith staying quiet and soaking up information through Rei.

Also, technically, the soul of Lilith was what I'm referring to here. Lilith's body is in Terminal Dogma, but her soul resides in Rei Ayanami's physical body.

Anyway, Lilith's soul will be featured more frequently in future episodes, especially during the finale, but I think she works best in small doses for the sake of the story.

Also, next episode is when Kaworu Nagisa finally makes an appearance in the story. I am also going to be editing Episode 02 so that the section where Shinji looks at the pilots' files mentions Kaworu as well, since in this version of the story... Kaworu worked at NERV Germany alongside Mari and Asuka for several years, which means he is a bit less socially awkward around people in this version of the story.

I'm also going to be going back and adding a few sections in episodes 04 through 17 to showcase Shinji, Rei, and Misato interacting with one another to help give more weight to Misato's emotional connection with Rei, as well as give more weight to Shinji and Rei's romance, which I believe I have tragically underwritten.

As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews! Remember, they're always appreciated, no matter how critical they are!


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